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Ada Swenson
Ada Swenson
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Ada's CaringBridge
Ada Swenson
28580
visits
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My Story

Welcome to our CaringBridge website.  On May 5th 2022 Ada was diagnosed with acute leukemia. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
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Monday, November 11, 2024

Please help us spread some joy to families going through tough times this holiday season. We miss Ada so much and know that she would want us to spread joy in her memory so our non-profit (adas-spark.org) is organizing a toy drive for our local hospital. Click the link below or read on for more information. Thank you!

Ada’s Spark Toy Drive Benefiting AFCH (2024) https://www.amazon.com/registries/gl/guest-view/1K3LZR7KBINRX
Gifts need to arrive by December 4th
Amazon items will automatically ship to the Swenson’s house
Message us here or reach out to https://adas-spark.org/contact-us/ with questions.
There is a printable flyer attached to this post if you want to promote this outside of social media.

Ada loved the hospital. This was not only due to the incredible loving staff, but also due to all of the fun toys, games, and activities she was given. She relapsed just before Christmas 2022 and was readmitted to American Family Children's Hospital (AFCH) in Madison. Generous gifts she received at the hospital shed some light on the darkness during the Holidays.

We want to pay it forward in her honor by hosting a toy drive for AFCH in Madison. This list includes toys that are in high demand that the hospital requested and toys that Ada loved and helped get her through some of the toughest days. So if you are looking for ways to help others who are going through some tough times this year, please consider participating in the 2024 Ada’s Spark Toy Drive. We will have it open until December 4th so that we can deliver all these toys to AFCH before the holidays! No kid should have to spend the Holidays in the hospital but let's show them that they aren’t alone! Thank you!!

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Cheryl Clark — 11/12/24
❤❤❤❤ Ada loved Santa and everything Christmas ❤❤❤❤
Lindsey Leick — 11/11/24
We’re in!! You couldn’t have made it any easier :-) what a perfect way to celebrate the memory of such a special girl and amazing family!
Jane Klimenko — 11/11/24
Thank you for organizing, we are honored to contribute. Sending much love ❤️
Kay aiken — 11/11/24
Thank you for doing this again. 💜

Ada's Forever 5K- register now!

Joel and I are beyond excited to announce the non-profit that we established to honor Ada: Ada's Spark Inc! Ada’s Spark is dedicated to illuminating pathways of hope and healing for children and families affected by leukemia and childhood cancer. Through funding pioneering research, advocating for equitable access to care, and providing compassionate support, we strive to honor Ada’s memory by igniting positive change and fostering resilience in the face of adversity. Learn more at our brand new website!

Our first big fundraising event will be on (what would have been) Ada's 6th birthday, June 8th, 2024 in Waunakee:

Ada's Forever 5K (with a 1-mile walk option). BE SURE TO REGISTER BY APRIL 30th! All proceeds will go toward Ada's Spark.
https://adas-spark.org/adas-forever-5k/

Anyone, any age, are welcome to come. After the run/walk we will have kid-friendly activities and snacks. If you register by 4/30, you will also get a t-shirt!

Joel and I are eternally grateful to our loving, supportive, brilliant, and hard working board members for helping us get this off the ground: Luthien Niland, Kelly Teske, Lauren Walsh, Mike Poe. 

Thank you all for your continued support. Lets help end childhood cancer!!!

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Announcing Ada's Forever 5k

Tami Swenson and I are excited to announce that we are hosting a 5k run and a 1 mile walk in Ada's honor to raise money for childhood cancer research and to support children and their families affected by cancer: "Ada's Forever 5k". We have many, many details to plan still but wanted to share that it will be the morning of June 8th, 2024 (which would have been Ada's 6th birthday) in Waunakee. If you can't make it to Waunakee we will also plan a virtual option (basically you just walk/run where you live). If you want to help plan or know someone or a company that might donate equipment (e.g. bounce house), time/talent (e.g. facepainter), supplies (e.g. food, drinks), match donations, etc please reach out to either Tami or me. We are also in the process of setting up an IRS-qualified 501(c)(3) public charity so donations will be tax deductible for organizations and individuals. We look forward to seeing some of you there!

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Lindsey Leick — 2/7/24
Great idea! We would love to help with a challenge/match donation (will reach out to Joel and Tami directly) and/or water station/popsicle station if our ‘hood happens to be on your route :-)

We think of you guys often!!! 🤗
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Vera Aiken — 2/4/24
We will be there!
David Drummond — 2/2/24
This is a great initiative and our family would love to participate virtually!
katy barber — 2/2/24
I would love to volunteer!
Jane Klimenko — 2/1/24
That's a wonderful way to honor Ada's legacy! My family will have to be virtual but we are in.

December 31, 2023 - Update and request for help from our Appleton/Neenah friends

Hi all,

I'm not sure if folks still monitor/get alerts here but wanted to share a quick update and also get some help trying to pass a bill funding childhood cancer research.

Request for help if you live in Appleton or Neenah:
Tami and I are both getting involved with various organizations to help families currently battling childhood cancer or leukemia. We know how devastating cancer can be and want to do our part. I'm volunteering (just got started basically!) with the MACC and ACCO organizations and we are helping introduce a bill into the Wisconsin State Legislature that establishes a state administered trust that would exclusively fund pediatric cancer research in the state of Wisconsin. They have a Representative and Senator interested in championing the bill but we want to gather constituents from the legislators' districts to help speed things up. If any of you live in Sen. Cabral-Guevera's (Appleton/Neenah) district (see the district map here) and are willing to help please let me know (joel.swenson at gmail dot com). We'd like these constituents to join us for a Zoom meeting to get caught up and prepped. After this, we will schedule a meeting for them to join us on a call with their representative....I was told it would be about a 1 hour time commitment total. Let me know if you know of anyone and I'm happy to provide more information or speak with them directly!

Swenson Family Update:
We are doing okay. We miss her everyday and continue to love her so much. After talking to others who have lost a child I don't think that I will every stop grieving or missing her and that is ok. I'm slowly starting to find more joy in memories of her (rather than only sorrow and longing). The grief definitely comes in waves and some days are harder than others. Christmas and Thanksgiving both had their hard moments for all of us as we missed Ada and reminisced of fond memories with her. Fortunately it wasn't as bad as we feared (which maybe isn't saying much) and we were able to make both Holidays enjoyable for Oliver and Ellie while starting some new traditions to honor and remember Ada. I'll share a few here since I know that you all cared so much about her. On Christmas eve we put a gift for Oliver and a gift for Ellie inside Ada's stocking and told them that if Ada could have given them a gift this is what we think it would have been. Oliver got a slime dinosaur fossil (it was so messy, Ada would have approve) and Ellie received a Mini-Mouse dress-up toy (she and Ada both love(d) Mini-Mouse and dress-up). This helped us focus on Oliver and Ellie on Christmas itself. In downtown Waunakee we got to decorate a Christmas tree in her honor and hold a nice ceremony with other families that lost loved ones. We also coordinated a toy drive for American Family Children's Hospital in Madison. Ada, Oliver, and Ellie all got so many toys from them which brightened their days. We are so grateful that family, friends, and Ada's old daycare (Inspire - Ellie is there part-time now) opened up their hearts (and shopping carts!) to purchase over 350 gifts that the hospital will give to sick children and their families....Tami and I made the wish list with input from the hospital and it included many of Ada's favorite and distinctively Ada toys. The care staff will think of her often as they find sticky balls attached to the ceiling or scamper away from remote control spiders. Hopefully the gifts spread joy to patients, family, and staff. Our neighborhood friends also purchased 4 trikes with the Ada logo on them for the hospital to use! We feel so grateful to everyone who contributed and will probably advertise it on here next year as we hope to coordinate this annually. We didn't share it on here this year (I know that not everyone is on Facebook) because we were unprepared for how quickly the gifts were purchased.  

We also got a puppy in early December. We have been wanting one for like 5 years but delayed it when we moved to Wisconsin, then when Ellie was born, and again when Ada got sick. Ada loved dogs, she probably never laughed more at the hospital than when playing fetch with the therapy dogs. One of the last times she was able to walk around the hospital she proudly took the leash and stiffly walked the therapy dog down the hallway. For some reason Ada always named her stuffed animals "Ogo" so that is what we named him. He is a Portuguese Water Dog, which means that he is hypoallergenic (Tami is allergic to dogs) and will grow into a great family dog. They are known to have especially challenging puppyhood and we can confirm that he is keeping us busy. Oliver and Ellie love him to pieces.

Tami went back to work a few months ago. She stopped working May of 2022 when Ada was diagnosed so its been a transition. She works on trying to bring more life-saving pharmaceuticals to patients and has requested to focus more on oncology drugs. I admire her courage as she navigates through familiar drugs or reads about familiar side-effects on a daily basis. I am taking a break from working so that Tami can catch up a bit in her career with less stress at home and I can focus on continuing to help and provide support for Oliver and Ellie as they grieve in their own ways.

Its hard to imagine next year being better than this year since next year we won't have any days with Ada physically present with us. We know that she would want us to live life to the fullest, laugh, help others, and love one another so we will try do so and hope that you all can as well. We thank you all again for your support and love.
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Amanda Reed — 1/2/24
I live in that district and am willing to help!!

Your updates are always so inspiring and often bring me to tears. How you do all that at once as the one navigating loss is amazing.
Joel Swenson — 1/2/24
Thanks Amanda! Are you sure you live in that district? Tami told me that Holly did not live in that district.
Jason Anderson — 1/2/24
Joel, thank you so much for this update! Sending love to you and the family.
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 12/31/23
Joel, Tami, Oliver, and Ellie, you continue to set an amazing example of beautiful ways to navigate such an experience by honoring and remembering Ada in such beautiful ways that represent her so well. Thank you for sharing. Sending love to you all, Kristin ♥️
Jane Klimenko — 12/31/23
Sending our loving thoughts your way. May you continue holding each other in your arms and in your hearts in the New Year and many years more ❤️ Jane and family
Lance Paulson — 12/31/23
Tami, Joel and kids, we are amazed by the example you repeatedly set for how a family can navigate this journey with love, strength and humility and then continue to honor Ada by giving back to the cause. We look forward to seeing you at ice skating!
Maureen Heider — 12/31/23
Joel & Tami,
This post gave me hope for our future. That I will be able to find joy in memories-right now it’s tsunami sized waves of emotions.
Thank you for the toy drive for AFCH-it will bring smiles to brave kiddos facing things most adults have problems dealing with! It made me smile remembering Ada riding her trike and the sticky balls stuck to the ceiling at AFCH :)
Tami, you are amazing going back to work with pharmaceutical products that you have personally knowledge about.
Joel, being a rock for Oliver & Ellie is absolutely wonderful.
The way both of you are taking care of your family is amazing.
May 2024 be a year of healing and peace.
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Joel Swenson — 12/31/23
We think of Amelia and your family often. Amelia was always so sweet towards Ada. Wishing you and your family peace in 2024 and please reach out to us if we can help at all. We've found a few good organizations to help families with grief, email me if you are interested, I know some people don't want that right away. Joel.swenson at Gmail dot com
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Nicholas Torres — 12/31/23
❤️
Ally Turner — 12/31/23
You are both so strong! I think about your family often, and think fondly of Ada when I see at my smiley face tattoo that I got in her memory. She made such an impact on me, as I know she did on so many! Her spirit was definitely in my heart this holiday season. Sending all my love to your family. Happy holidays, and Happy New Year. Let 2024 be a year of love and life and joy ❤️
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Joel Swenson — 12/31/23
Thank you! Would love to see a picture of the tattoo sometime!
Elise Hansen — 12/31/23
Joel and Tami,
As I read this I am with our good friends that I told you about who also lost a young child when he was age 11. They said to tell you that you will aways remember, grieve and miss Ada everyday, that will never change. However, they say that the memories are special and you will eventually appreciate that you have these special loving memories. They recommend you laugh, hug, love , create some new traditions and enjoy the memories! (even 24 years later.)
With all of our love,
Elise and friends
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Joel Swenson — 12/31/23
Thank you! We will try our best!
M. Zeman
December 31, 2023
Janet Gauger
August 29, 2023

August 24, 2023

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August 24, 2023

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August 24, 2023

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August 24, 2023

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August 24, 2023

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August 24, 2023

Oops, meant to attach pictures to the previous post, will put them here instead!

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August 24, 2023

Its been over a month since we lost Ada. We have spent the time starting the process of grieving, having some events in Ada's honor, and making some headway on how we want to honor her moving forward. Most of all we have been missing Ada. Some days/night/early mornings are tougher than others but on a whole we are slowly trending in the right direction. We keep hearing from others living with loss that the grief comes in cycles but that eventually you are able to remember the happy times with more joy than sorrow.

On August 12th Tami, Oliver, Ellie, my parents, Tami's parents, my brother's family, Tami's sister's family, and I went to the outdoor section of Ada's beloved daycare, Inspire. Tami and I read a eulogy that we wrote, and our dad's shared some memories and wisdom, then we released some butterflies. It was a beautiful moment as we stood on top of the hill overlooking where Ada first learned to ride a trike, where she frolicked with friends and where she did a lot of learning and loving. Afterwards, Ada's cousins enjoyed some of Ada's favorite activities while the adults supervised, shared more stories, cried, and laughed. The eulogy that Tami and I wrote and read is below. It was hard to read but Oliver ran over on his own accord to squeeze our hands to support us. Ellie was just the right amount of cute with random interruptions to help us get through it as well.

[Spoken by Joel] “A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.” – Paulo Coelho. Ada did all three with style. She was such a big personality and was never shy about asking for what she wanted. Her teachers and caregivers used many words to describe her including: happy, caring, energetic, curious, smart, limit-testing, strong-willed. We would describe her as love, joy, and playfulness personified but we don’t really know how to describe something we loved so much and so hard. When we married the love and joy in our lives increased, when we had Oliver it increased more than we could imagine, Ada and Ellie each made that joy expand exponentially again. The love we have for our kids is limitless and forever. Losing Ada is more painful than we could ever have imagined but we will always have more joy in our life for having known Ada.

Since Ada was born she did everything to keep us on our toes including bending in half while asleep and sleeping face first into her crib! She enjoyed giving the best belly laughs, riding on a roomba vacuum, making faces, dancing in nature, playing in the rain and mud, and when Ellie was born Ada turned into a little mom whether Ellie liked it or not. Once we were out on Papa Swenson’s pontoon boat on Lake Mendota, we were deciding if we wanted to jump into the cold green water when we noticed Ada climbing down the ladder into the water, this made her wimp of a Dad jump in quickly! Ada had such fun ways of saying things: oatmeal was meatmeal, Oliver was Aldo, water towers were water mountains. At dinner every night she would lead our family ritual by asking everyone “what are you grateful for”, we said many times that we were grateful for family and her not being physically with us doesn’t change that.

After Ada was diagnosed she was in the hospital for most of 14 months but the fun for her did not stop. Her body and spirit were remarkably strong, we would be told that she would likely feel pretty bad and have low energy but her body was spared many of those common side effects and her spirit fought so hard against them when they were present. We have innumerable stories of her crying in pain or having a fever and many times just metaphorically (and sometimes literally) yelling “I just want to play”. She would then proceed to do so. One such story is that Ada spiked a high fever but refused to stay in her room, she wanted to go for a bike ride so we packed up our things and headed off, after around 10 minutes she stopped, threw up in a bag and just kept going. Shortly before Ada passed away I was called and told to get to the hospital ASAP, the medical staff thought that the end was near. By the time I got there Ada was insisting (to the nurse’s dismay) through pain and countless medicines that she wanted to go to the playroom. Ultimately Ada won the battle of wills and made a mess in the playroom. 

[Spoken by Tami] Ada loved to play doctor at the hospital with her dolls, sit at the nurses station and type away “charting” on a computer, she had her own office (the family consult room) where she would talk on the phone, chart, give her parents shots, or give Chester his medicines. One time Joel told her to check Chester for a blood return, she looked at him and said “Daddy, Chester isn’t real”. Ada’s quirky personality was further demonstrated when she met sassy robert. We were walking through the hallway in the hospital when she stopped a big burley tattooed biker man and demanded to know his name. He said, “Robert…”. She said “you are a sassy Robert” and they both continued on their way…

When Joel or I stepped out of the room, she would say “hug and kiss” and spread her arms open. At night she would ask us to stop dinosaurs and chewbacca at the door, she ultimately became convinced that our farts kept him away.

Ada, your spirit will stay with us forever and the pain of losing you will forever be here as a reminder. A reminder to never take life for granted. We don’t know how long we will be here as we have learned all too well that everything can change in an instant. So be like Ada: take chances, be the change you want to see in the world, fight for what you want and what you need, be fiercely curious, tell your friends and family you love them, treat each other with respect, and just enjoy life. Ada, you have taught us that. Whenever we face a difficult decision or moment we will remember you and ask ourselves, ‘what would Ada do’. If you do anything less, you know Ada would wag her little finger at you and say “no no”. So let's honor her and live life how she did and how she would want everyone she loved to. She may be gone but she is far from forgotten. 

One of the last things Ada said to us was “Thank you for loving me”, thank you Ada for loving us and letting us love you. The very last thing she said was “Lets go wake Ellie up” which to us indicates that she was thinking of others and wanting to play with them right up to the end. We love you forever.

 

On August 13th we had a celebration of life for Ada. We are so grateful to friends and family who helped with activities/food, purchased some of the supplies, monitored some of the stations, etc. Most of all we are thankful to everyone who was able to attend (we know others wish that they could have and we totally understand). It meant a lot to have family and friends come together from near and far to honor Ada and also show their support to our family. Ada would have loved the event. It had: nail painting & tattoos, sand art, slime, play-doh, rock painting, a bounce house, bubbles & chalk, yard games, photo boards, polaroid-like camera to take pictures, photo/art wall, slideshow, disney music, memory book, capes, and "fight like a kid" magnets. Most important to us and I'm sure Ada, was the lovely people who were all there. I know that Ada would have been running from one activity to another, playing mother to the little kids, and showing the big kids that she could do everything that they can do. We are happy that Ada's friends were able to do the above for her in memory of her. Tami and I only wish that we had more time to chat, cry, and laugh with all the amazing people who showed up. Tami and I poured a lot of love and tears into organizing it but it was a labor of love. Thank you all who were there physically or in spirit. We love you all.

Every family at the Celebration of Life received a magnet with a picture of Ada and the saying "Fight Like a Kid". The magnet station had a sheet of paper explaining what that means to us:

Ada was the epitome of the saying “Fight Like a Kid”. 
We think it's a good way to live.

Ada biked, ran, laughed, and played through 14 months of grueling cancer treatments. She didn't let pain, nausea or fevers get in her way. She accepted what was thrown her way, including love and help, and found ways to make life fun and entertaining. She taught us how to live a long standing family mantra of ours: “Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain”. 

Ada was going to do great things and make the world a better place. She can’t do that with her body anymore, so we ask that you all carry her spirit onward. Put this magnet somewhere you will see it every day and spread her joy and caring throughout your communities and through your actions: "How can I be a little more kind/cheeky/helpful today? How can I make the world a better place in her memory?". Don’t take anything for granted, don't let anyone hold you back, do what makes you feel fulfilled, love and help others, and enjoy every single moment

Fight (through life) like a kid in honor of Ada!

*If you did not get a magnet, let us know! We have lots of leftovers!!

On August 17th, Waunakee unveiled a mural for those in the community who lost a loved one at an early age. It is a large butterfly with smaller butterflies surrounding it. The smaller butterflies are the names (including Ada) of lost but not forgotten community members. It was a nice event with food, music, inspirational speeches, a reading of all the names, and a butterfly release. They also gave all the families a butterfly chrysalis. Our butterfly emerged at our house on August 22nd, exactly 1 month after Ada's death. Oliver named the butterfly Ada and released it in our backyard where she eagerly flew off into the world.

This past weekend some of our amazing neighbors invited us to their cabin up north and absolutely spoiled us, not letting us cook or clean and helping out a bunch with the kids. It was the most relaxed Tami and I have been in a very, very long time. Tami and I had been keeping our social circle extremely small due to COVID and then Ada's compromised immune system so on top of all the great food and amenities (boat, jet ski, kayak, speakeasy, etc) we most appreciated the good company. So if you are reading this lets get together and do something fun to help us all heal! 

When Ada was alive we had a dinner time tradition of going around the table and everyone sharing a "rose" (what you are grateful for), a "bud" (what you are looking forward to), and a "thorn" (what you are sad about/worried about/etc). Ada used to lead the tradition and wouldn't let anyone off the hook. We continue this tradition in her absence and even though our thorns are sharp enough to pierce hearts, the roses and buds that you all have provided and that we provide each other propel us to fight for joy, love, and hope to conquer sorrow. This has been a heartbreaking journey but countless people (many we don't even know) have loved and supported us. Think about that next time you see only hate and fear in the media, the world is mostly full of loving, amazing people. Please keep spreading that light and love throughout your communities.

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Lindsey Leick — 8/30/23
Your amazing family is still very much in our hearts ❤️ Ada’s sticker went on Jeremy’s toolbox so he would think of her when he’s working, and Elizabeth & I went to visit her name on the big beautiful butterfly in Waunakee yesterday. And of course we think of you all every time we drive past your home in our ‘hood!

Ada’s celebration of life was pretty awesome 🤗 thank you so much for sharing it with neighbors, friends, family, the community…. What an impact she has made!

In her honor I’m going to give the next tough guy I see a funny look and call him Sassy Robert :-) will let you know how that goes

Sending big hugs your way ❤️ we’ve got you and we’re thinking of you
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Aniek Janssen — 8/28/23
❤️
Janine Zabel — 8/26/23
My heart still breaks for all of you. Ada would be proud of the way you are honoring her through your various tributes. The celebration of life was beautiful. Your continued devotion to her in countless ways amazes me. #fightlikeakid
Maggie Goldbach — 8/25/23
This brought me to tears because I could physically feel Ada with every word that was written. Just beautiful ♥️
Cheryl Clark — 8/25/23
Tami and Joel, this beautiful tribute to Ada summed up how our Ada angel lived her life to the fullest and how much everyone Loved her!
You both gave her so much love and happiness in her short 5 yrs.
Her love and all the memories will be with us forever ♥ Miss you sweet Ada Angel ❣
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Siri Bendtsen — 8/25/23
Ada was blessed to be given you both as her parents during her too-short time in this place. Thank you for sharing Ada’s story as part of your family’s story so generously in your posts. What a beautifully authentic celebration for Ada who lived her life to the fullest. She has been and will remain an inspiration!

Siri
(A friend of your parents, Aunt Kay and Uncle Gregg)
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Mary Roelke — 8/25/23
Joel & Tami, The eulogies you both wrote were beautiful. Your Ada was a special little girl. I never met Ada but know Oliver being his crossing guard before he started riding the bus. Thank you for sharing Ada;s story
Kay aiken — 8/24/23
Thank you for sharing these words. Your ability to let us all into your story has allowed us all to know Ada better and to be in awe of her (and her family). The lessons she taught have been so important and you have summarized these lessons well. Rest assured, she will always be remembered...especially whenever a beautiful monarch crosses our paths. Sending you our love.
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Luthien Niland — 8/24/23
You all are the best, so glad you are in our lives and that I have Ada’s memory to make me smile when I think of her ❤️
Bill Hinton — 8/24/23
Tami and Joel: Thank you for sharing your beautifulwords about Ada. Memories are in our hearts FOREVER. Do not be afraid to recall them. Stay strong and may God bless you and your family. Maybe we will meet in Colorado sometime.
Nicole Burm — 8/24/23
You’re amazing parents! Love you all!
Amy Zirk — 8/24/23
What an amazing tribute❤️.
Angela Peterson — 8/24/23
We love you all so much and I love hearing more about Ada’s spicy personality. The stories are everything. We’re ready to spoil you here in Minnesota whenever you’re up for it!
Sharon Clark — 8/24/23
Thanks so much, Joel and Tami for sharing this. Thoughts and prayers are still being sent for healing. 💕
Brad Swenson — 8/24/23
Beautiful words. I had to stop often to dry my tears.. (Amy)

August 1, 2023 - Celebration of Life

Hi all,

We are all doing ok here, as well as can be expected. For us its been true what they say, that the sorrow comes in waves. We've been making a point to get outside, spend time with others and find joy throughout the day. We continue to be overwhelmed by the support from you all and our community. Your messages of support, your hugs on the sidewalk, the special moments/experiences folks have provided for our kids in the past week, friends/family inviting us over and spending time with us, etc has helped more than you know.

Tami and I have been planning a celebration of life for Ada. All of you are more than welcome to stop in anytime on August 13th between 1:30 - 4:30 at the Waunakee Village Center (333 S Madison St, Waunakee, WI 53597). There will be light snacks, lots of pictures of Ada, and many stations of her favorite activities.  We know that there will be sad moments as we think of Ada not being able to join us in those activities but we hope it will be a happy day as we celebrate her wonderful but short life. You are welcome to wear whatever but we suggest wearing colorful fun outfits and dress your kids in something they can get messy in. :)

Also on August 17th Ada's name (along with others) will be read as she has a butterfly painted in her honor in downtown Waunakee. It is a mural being dedicated to those in the community who lost a loved one. https://www.nbc15.com/2023/07/09/waunakee-mural-honor-lives-lost-loved-ones/ We can share more details on the ceremony when we receive them.

In lieu of flowers please consider donating blood, signing up to be a bone marrow donor at bethematch.org, or support the UW Kids Cancer Research Fund in her name here: http://give.wiscmedicine.org/AdaSwenson

Ada's obituary: https://www.cressfuneralservice.com/.../adalyn-ada-swenson

As always, thank you all for the support you've given us and continue to give.

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Brett & Julie Cable — 8/5/23
What a beautiful way to celebrate Ada! Sending our love and prayers to you!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/2/23
Our hearts ache from the loss of our little sweetheart. There is a hole that will never be filled. In the days since Ada’s passing, we have reflected on her life, the good memories and the hard memories. But most of all we have reflected on Ada’s personality – loving, spunky, sassy, determined, and curious. This personality was a blessing to us as grandparents. She reminded us to live life in two important ways;
She demonstrated unconditional love; love of people, love of living. Her love was shown through the fun she could find in nearly any situation. Things like convincing Doctors to play catch with her sticky balls, helping papa drive the boat and managing to sneak her finger to the red button blowing the horn startling everyone, or telling silly stories to each other. In her final days telling her Mayme don’t cry, I’ll be okay. You could see her love through the spark in her eyes.
She viewed the world around with wonder and awe. The joys she took from the little things in life were amazing. Hiking through the neighborhood with Ada between treatments, spending time watching the ants and wondering what they were doing, going hunting for dinosaurs and investigating all nature had to offer.
Our hearts ache with our loss of our sweet little girl. As we go forward, we hope we can take these lessons from our sweet Ada and live life the way she would want us to.
Thank you everyone for your love and support!
Karen & Mark (Mayme and Papa)
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Cheryl Clark — 8/3/23
What a well written tribute to our sweet Ada. Yes , our hearts will forever be broken,, but she has taught us so much in her short 5 years of life. Tami an Joel you raised a beautiful little girl that gave so much Love to everyone she met!
Your memories will live on forever sweet Ada Rose ❣
Thank you everyone for support and love in the last 14 months,
Cheryl and Tim (Mayme and Papa C)
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Lori Michal — 8/2/23
Thoughts, prayers and hugs to all of you💜😇💜
May all the love and wonderful memories carry all of you through this difficult time❤️
Eric J. Daza — 8/1/23
I can't be there in person—but I will be sure to hold y'all in my heart that day! 💜
Angie Paulson — 8/1/23
We send our love 💕
Ron Felker — 8/1/23
Love all of you, big hugs!!
Kay aiken — 8/1/23
Sending you hugs....
Mary Roelke
July 24, 2023

July 22, 2023

Ada died peacefully this morning at 2:47AM. She was cuddled between Tami and me and hugged and kissed her as she took her last breath. Over the past few days she has been surrounded by family and Tami and I have not left her side. We got so many cuddles and kisses in. Her pain was uncontrolled several days ago but thanks to copious amounts of medication she has been peaceful for a bit now. Even when she was in pain and we were told her death could be imminent she insisted on being pushed around in her wheelchair and handing out pez (people tried to say "no" to the pez but she wouldn't let them) or going to the playroom. As you can imagine Tami and I have been telling her that we love her a lot lately. After one of those times Ada said "thank you for loving me" then she said "I love you too". A little later we both got big hugs and a kiss on the lips from her. Words can't capture the love and joy from those moments but we will carry them in our heart. Wednesday night she got sooo much morphine (and other drugs) that we thought we wouldn't have any more lucid moments from her, as we all know Ada is a fighter. She woke up Thursday morning flitted her eyes open and said "Glad that you are here". Late afternoon Thursday we tickled her and she said "Lets go wake Ellie up". Multiple times over the past few days different doctors and nurses have said that they've never seen someone fight so hard or come back from the brink so many times...typical strong Ada.

She and we (and all of you) fought so hard over the last 1+ years. Ada got the best and most care that her body could handle. We are indebted to our local medical professionals/experts as well as all the world experts who consulted with us and/or treated Ada. As far as I'm concerned Ada fought and won all the battles that were in her control. She never felt sorry for herself, never stopped playing, never stopped bossing the nurses around "her feistiness makes us laugh", never stopped caring for others (especially her baby sister and her big brother), never stopped goofing and laughing.

Ada had a good life, with lots of friends, family, joy, and fun experiences. Since her diagnosis in May of 2022 she has spent around 250 days in a hospital and closer to 300 away from home (i.e. not inpatient but out of our home for care). For the vast majority of that time she was having a ball including laughing, playing with nurses, playing with hospital dogs, having school in the hospital, finding the messiest toys/paint/sand and enjoying them, exploring hospitals by foot/bike/wagon/toy fire truck and talking to strangers, playing with us and making us smile, etc. This past year + was undoubtably hard but Ada taught us how to live a longstanding family mantra of Tami and mine “Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain.” Your support and encouragement made this possible. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Ada wouldn’t want this to be a sad day but it will have sadness, I want it to have joy as well. I want to celebrate her life. When Tami and I married, the love and joy in our lives increased. When we had Oliver it increased more than we could imagine. Ada and Ellie each made that joy expand exponentially again. The love we have for our kids is forever and despite some joy being sucked out of it today we will always have more joy in our life for having known Ada.

Please respond with a story of Ada that you will remember or a lesson that she taught you. It doesn't have to be long, eloquent, or profound. If you can't think of one today come back and leave one some other time.

We will share more details on a memorial service in the coming days but want to leave on this note. Ada brought so much joy and wisdom into the world. Her body is gone now but we are going to challenge ourselves and you all to bring her joy into the world with you. We know that there will be sadness and grief with us (and many of you) for the rest of our lives but Ada wouldn't want us to be consumed by it. She was going to do great things and make the world a better place. I contend that she already has and wants everyone to spread her joy and caring throughout their communities. Put a picture of her up on your fridge or write her name on a piece of paper where you see it everyday. Don't only look back on her life with sadness but when you see that reminder of her carry it with you into the world and think "how can I be a little kinder today, how can I help others, how can I make the world a better place in her memory". And finally, she has taught us to not take anything for granted. Live life to the fullest- don't let anyone hold you back, do what makes you feel fulfilled, love and help others and enjoy every single moment.

We all love you so much Ada, thank you for letting us be a part of your world for 5 glorious years.

-Joel and Tami

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Eric J. Daza — 7/30/23
My work colleagues and friends have already shared many of our fond memories of Ada, lessons she taught us, and our appreciation of how she (and you, her family) showed us how to be really good human beings. Ada had this truly amazing way of balancing magnanimity, grace, and whimsy through it all, time and again.

For her birthday this year, I sent her a video of me and Sharkey—my sometime video-call companion who also happens to be a talking toy shark head. Later that day, I learned that our ventriloquistic greeting apparently caused quite a bit of gleeful giggling! Although Ada and I (and Sharkey) never did meet, I’ll always be glad that we shared these little joy-filled moments.

Thank you for your gift of joy and genuine connection, Ada. They are the greatest gifts of all.

“The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.” — eden ahbez, "Nature Boy" (song recorded by Nat King Cole)
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Vanessa Anderson — 7/27/23
Deepest condolences to you and your family Joel. Although her time may have been short, her love and light will shine forever. Blessing to you all.
Amanda Bartholomew — 7/27/23
Whenever I see a kid speeding by on a tricycle, I will always think of little Ada pedaling around on hers around the neighborhood. One particular fond memory Erik and I have is seeing Ada truly flying at high speed on her tricycle down the sidewalk with her G-tube in place (and Joel worriedly chasing after her) shortly after she started her first cancer treatment. To me, that image captures Ada’s joyful spirit, unburdened zest for life, and fierce determination; I will keep these sentiments with me as an honor to her memory and as inspiration in my own life.

Tami and Joel - I am truly in awe of the love you have for your family, your dedication to your children, your positivity, and the grace your have demonstrated throughout Ada’s cancer journey. I wish you and your family strength and peace. Ada is very missed, but her spirit lives on in more ways than you can know.

Sincerely,
Amanda
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kimberly galston — 7/26/23
Ada is and was a sweet girl as one of my patients, will miss her dearly! I will forever keep Ada and her family in my prayers!
Jae Min — 7/26/23
Thank you, Ada, for always finding strength and joy even in the toughest times. The stories of your adventures whether on your tricycle or with your health care providers were full of light. I enjoyed your supervision on my calls with Joel, making sure we also have fun. I will miss you and will be thinking of your family.
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Brad Swenson — 7/26/23
We will carry with us her strength and your entire family’s strength.
Bertina Yen — 7/25/23
My deepest condolences to you and your family. Her strength, grace, and story have been so beautifully captured in these journals.
Yathi Giffin-Rao — 7/25/23
I am very sorry for loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time. I have followed along with Ada's story and I'm inspired by the strength that she and your family have shown.
Kay aiken — 7/24/23
Joel and Tami, my thoughts are so hard to put into words. I am in awe of the post you wrote just hours after saying goodbye to your beautiful Ada. Throughout the past 14 + months the words you have written on the Caringbridge pages allowed so many people to really get to know your special girl.

I remember during the pandemic meeting you outdoors "up north" and taking a hike around Shannon Lake with Oliver and Ada. (Ellie was at that time just a discussion about the merits of a mini-van and if we liked the one we have....we were not surprised about the pregnancy announcement a month or so later.) What stood out the most for me during our hike was Ada's intense curiosity. We had to stop for her to inspect many small pieces of nature. One of my favorite memories is when she was lying flat on her tummy on the boardwalk inspecting all that the boardwalk was covering.

Fast forward to September 2021. We were invited to Mark and Karen's. What I remember most about that day was being amazed at how much taller Ada had become and how very determined she was to keep up with her older brother and Luke and Jack, racing up and down the hills at break-neck speed with great joy and somehow keeping up with those older boys. I also remember her snuggling up with great-grandma Fern, a special bond between those two was apparent. Next, on to March 2022 at Jasmin's first birthday party. While there were a lot of people there what I noticed about Ada was her immediate love for Gaya (Erik and Vera's golden retriever) and how sweet Ada was to Jasmin.

Then came May 2022 and everything changed. The stories you shared through the CaringBridge website allowed us all to see her curiosity. She handled having a port better than anyone I know and I am sure learned so much "helping" the nurses work in their workstations. Her joy and determination were obvious with the sticky balls being thrown to the ceiling, putting make-up on doctors, the countless miles spent driving her trike around the hospital hallways often with a cape flapping in the breeze behind her, the insisting on going to the playroom in her final days. Through your journaling you were able to capture how loving Ada was. The way she loved mothering Ellie and playing with Oliver. The ever-ready smile. The love of the therapy dog. The kisses and hugs. The thanking you for being there....

Ada taught us all so many things. Be curious. Be joyful. Be determined. Have fun. Play....Dance in the rain.

Ada will be missed, but NEVER forgotten. We love you.
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Tanya McDonnell — 7/24/23
Although I never met Ada, following along this journey showed me just how incredible she was! She showed us all what is important in life, how to fight, play, and love more. Her mantra “Fight like a Kid” will forever ring over and over giving motivation needed. She was incredibly loved and Tami and Joel, you lived up to her mantra as you fought just as hard right there in her corner every step of the way. We are so very sorry and saddened for you loss of Ada and hope that you find comfort in just how many ways her spirit lives on in all of us.
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allison shapiro — 7/24/23
The legend of a rambunctious, playful, bright, and positive little girl named Ada long preceded our first (virtual) encounter. At work, Joel shared countless stories of family outings, almost always featuring Ada finding or manifesting new ways to add fun and spirit to any activity. When Ada was diagnosed the stories just kept on flowing and never let up. What an enormous gift Ada gave all of us - to infuse even the most trying of times with joy, humor, energy, and light, to give us so much more to feel. There’s no question that she carried the family torch to “dance in the rain.”
I got to meet Ada unexpectedly, and much to my delight, one day while Joel and I were having a virtual work meeting. Seemingly out of nowhere Ada appeared with important items to add to our agenda. We discussed her baby sister and beloved (stuffed animal) pet and I introduced her to my cat Moose. In the age of remote work, it’s not uncommon to see colleagues’ kids flit across their virtual backgrounds. But meeting Ada was an exciting and delightful first. She effortlessly commanded the room, showing so much curiosity and interest in joining the experience, meeting someone new, and sharing something about herself. She crammed so much into a brief moment before she returned to playing and Joel and I went back to work.
The news of Ada passing is devastating, I am so very sorry. The message you shared here is profound, beautiful, and deeply moving. I have and will continue returning to it, reading and rereading, to make sure these words imprint on me and I carry Ada’s ethos with me.
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Wei-Nchih Lee — 7/24/23
Love and hugs to you and your family <3
Jason Anderson — 7/24/23
I'm another person who has never met Ada, though I've been following the journal entries since the beginning. It was absolutely awe-inspiring to hear about the resilience that Ada showed this entire time. To know that, despite everything she was facing, she continued to interact with others (even strangers!) and show so much love is just incredible. It seems to me that she had a profoundly positive impact on everyone's lives. Even though I never met her, hearing about her bravery makes me want to show more courage in my own life.

She was also extremely lucky to have such loving, caring, and supportive family and friends. All of you were truly a blessing to her, and it seemed like she knew that.

If there's any way that we can be there for you, please reach out. Wishing you nothing but the best in these difficult (to say the least) times. --Jason & Paige
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Ernesto Ramirez — 7/24/23
Joel, Tami, and family, I very sorry to hear about your profound loss. This journey you've shared so graciously and openly with us shined a light on how singular a person Ada was. Just as you all were so lucky to have her in your lives, she was lucky to have you all. The love from you and your family shone through in each of your stories. Your joy, your amazement, and that the sense of awe she brought out in you was beautiful to see and experience through your words and your actions.

Wishing you strength and peace. ❤️
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Marc Van Goethem — 7/24/23
Sending all the love we have from South Africa. Marc, Amy and Mateo
Anya Makarov — 7/24/23
While I’ve never met Ada in person, I’ve been following this site since the beginning. Ada’s spirit never failed to amaze me - her resilience, strength, self-awareness, and ability to see the positive even in the most difficult of times is nothing short of incredible. Ada is an inspiration to us all. You now have a small but mighty guardian angel looking over you. ❤️
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Mary Roelke — 7/24/23
Joel, Tami Oliver, & Ellie, My deepest sympathy to you & your family. I never met Ada but knew Oliver when he was in kindergarten. Hugs & Prayers.
Gina Pagel — 7/24/23
Sending peace & light to your family. 💓 - Señorita Pagel
katy barber — 7/24/23
Joel, Tami, Oliver & Elle ~ I have no words to express how deeply sorry I am for you. Ada was a fighter surrounded with love and joy. Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Your strength, grace and love for each other is truly inspirational. Sending prayers for peace for you.

Katy Barber
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Char Ann — 7/24/23
What will forever stand out in my heart was Ada's giggle playing with the big boys, trying the water slide or trampoline; or dressing up. She was always fearless and so sweet.

We are sending you love and hugs in this hard time.
-Charlotte, Brock, and Rowan
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Lisa Schmitt — 7/24/23
Tami, Joel, Oliver, and Ellie,
Ada's lessons of how to continue with joy and a positive outlook will forever be with me.
Wishing you peace and strength,
Lisa Schmitt
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Mike Goldsher — 7/23/23
Ada had a life rich with love and joy; she inspires us all to be kind and be grateful. I feel very fortunate to have known her and will especially cherish the time I spent with her recently before she went back to the hospital for treatment. She was unstoppable as she stormed into our pantry and demanded snacks for her lunch box. Ada’s will to live and assertiveness were amazing. I will never forget her and will try to dance in the rain as much as possible to honor her life.
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Sarah Young — 7/23/23
Joel and Tami- I never got to meet Ada but I feel like I know her- thank you for sharing all the amazing stories of her humor and curiosity and strength over the past 14 months. One of my favorite stories you’ve shared is also one of the most recent- of Ada directing the hospital staff in feeding goldfish to her toy dog, one by one, and following it up by giving a makeover to one of the doctors. And an underlying part of that story- and many others!-is that as parents, you went with it too! You let Ada be Ada, and embraced her for exactly who she is. Your words in this post are also some of the most impactful I have ever read, and I will never forget them. I am in awe of Ada, and in awe of you too. Sending you so much love.
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Ann Stephens — 7/23/23
Sending you an enormous amount of hugs to you and your family, Tami.
Ann (Hackbarth) Stephens
Nicole Marie — 7/23/23
There really are no words. You all went above and beyond in this journey, especially precious Ada. My heart breaks for you all in this loss.

I've been thinking about what I could share as far as memories since I saw the post yesterday. I never knew or met Ada in person or otherwise, but I was an acquaintance of Tami's in highschool, and somehow found my way to this CaringBridge, because I lost a dear friend to cancer around the time Ada first got sick and I was very active on CaringBridge at that time.

But while I never met Ada, your stories of her this past year gave me a glimpse of a girl whose spunk, hope, and tenacity I will not soon forget. I can't imagine the loss you must all be experiencing. Perhaps it brings a little bit of hope to know that her story--and the story of your family--have been profoundly meaningful even for those of us who didn't know her at all. I'm not just saying this to be cliche. I have found myself thinking of and praying for her often, and over the last few months have even shared bits of her story with a few of my close friends who've also lost (adult) children or other loved ones to cancer. We've found ourselves crying and touched by the simple joy and pain in the experiences you've shared, and all the twists and turns of cancer treatment that anyone who's lost someone to cancer can sadly relate to. The way you communicated Ada's capacity to face joy and struggle in such a brave, authentic, spunky, hopeful, hilarious, gentle way has put my own life into perspective in new ways and provided a way to have better conversations with others in my community who've experienced similar losses. Personally, my favourite post was one of the ones where she was petting the therapy dog at the hospital--she was looking at the dog, not the camera, with such a sweet wisdom beyond her years, and even now makes me tear up as I think about it. I don't know why but it makes me both very happy and very sad that she could connect with a dog, because there must have been a lot going on inside of her that she didn't always have words to express, and maybe (I hope) she felt like the dog could understand it all on some level.

Thank you so much for sharing your journey, and allowing even those of us who didn't know her to care about what you were all going through and be touched by her. May her memory be eternal.
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Heather Sheehan — 7/23/23
A little red trike will forever remind me of Ada. She was so creative in her play and always gave great directions for how I could best assist her big ideas❤️ I am heartbroken with her passing. Ada and family, you hold a special place in my heart. I am thinking of you all and wishing you peace as you learn to live without her on earth.
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Janine Zabel — 7/23/23
Dear Tami, Joel, Oliver, Ellie and family,
There are no words to express how deeply sorry we are to hear of Ada’s death. We know how hard she and your entire family fought to beat the cancer.
As you so eloquently wrote, Ada won many battles throughout her cancer journey, as she amazed everyone with her remarkable resilience and spirit!
The love, care and devotion you all gave to Ada has touched so many people and reminds us of the fragility of life.
We will all carry a memory of your sweet Ada in our hearts, as we try to live life to the fullest with love, joy and kindness.
Please know we are here to help in any way, as you mourn the loss of your beloved little girl.
Sending you prayers of strength and healing,
Janine & Mark Zabel
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Ann Parplys — 7/23/23
Dear Tami, Joel, Oliver, Ellie and family!

I am so sorry to hear about the loos of Ada.
I told my kids and my husband about your amazing, strong and brave Ada and they were constantly asking for her.
We now have another star to look up to and remember Ada (even though we never met her in person) and remind ourselves to enjoy every moment to the fullest, smile and love!
Sending much of love from Germany
Ann
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David Drummond — 7/23/23
Ada did have a a good life surrounded by wonderful, brave, and joyous people who enjoyed every precious moment, whether rain or shine. I will think of Ada, and how she fought so hard with a smile on her face - how evident her joyful perseverance and appreciation of life was present in every story here - and take that with me to be kinder and help others more.

I never got to meet Ada in person, but I saw how much joy she brought her family. I remember when Joel returned to work after his parental leave and how happy he was to have her home, despite the nights without much sleep. Joel shared some of his family photos from the holidays on the breakroom fridge, and I was always amazed at how much joy they contained. They always featured a joyful family, beaming with smiles and an evident appreciation for each other and life's simple wonders. As the years have went on and times got harder, the smiles have kept appearing here, and it's clearly no accident. Joel and Tami live life with an amazing attitude and perspective, and gifted that to their children. I know this is an impossibly tough chapter in their story, but one that they will appreciate and that will draw them closer together. From what I've heard and seen here, Ada had that same great attitude until the very end, and that's the attitude she'd want us all to take with us into every day.
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Siri Bendtsen — 7/23/23
Dear Joel, Tami, Oliver, Ellie, Mark, Karen and Swenson Family,

Sending you love and hugs as you spend these next few days (and your life times) trying to honor the beautiful, spunky soul that is your forever Ada.

Keeping you close in prayers and thought and the sweet memories you’ve created in our minds by sharing Ada’s life with all who love you,
Siri and Lee Bendtsen
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Maureen Heider — 7/23/23
Our deepest sympathies to you all. Ada’s journey has been inspirational. Thank you for sharing her with everyone.
My first memory of Ada is her riding her bike down the hall of P4 with the Panda balloon in tow and Joel following (dressed in matching PJs). Her mischievous grin as I mistakenly tried to open the hallway door for her and was quickly told to stop was so endearing. I also loved seeing the sticky-man stuck to the ceiling in the BMT hallway. Seeing that always made us smile - it stayed there for a long time. Our prayers are with your family 🙏❤️🫶🏻
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kathy harvey — 7/23/23
I am so thankful that Grandma Karen sent me the link to Caring Bridge which introduced me to Ada and your family. I, too, have found so much joy for having known Ada - not physically but through your stories of her which made me laugh and cry at the same time. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I will forever have visions of the little girl with the spiky hair, often times wearing rubber boots, who always had a smile. She was an amazing little human, and now heaven has a spunky little angel. Hugs to your family, Kathy
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Aniek Janssen — 7/23/23
Dear Joel, Tami, Oliver, Ellie and family, we’re sending you all the love and strength we can give. Your stories of Ada have been so inspirational, touching and funny. We never got to meet your beautiful daughter, but feel we got to know her through all your stories. Ada taught us to always keep on fighting with joy and a big smile. It never is too late to play and enjoy life to the fullest. Wish we could be there to give you a big hug. ❤️ Much love, Coen & Aniek
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Mindy Sarjapur — 7/22/23
Joel, Tami, Oliver & Elle - sending you all our love right now. I wish we had been physically closer in recent years, so we could have seen Ada grow and shine her light on the world first-person. I remember her as such a beautiful baby. Now I see she had grown to be an incredible, strong, sweet little girl, which I know comes down to you both being such amazing parents and creating such a strong, beautiful family. I remember, too, that hysterical Halloween picture of her as Chucky. In honor of Ada, I have shared your quote “ Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...It's about learning to dance in the rain.” with both our boys today, and talked with both of them about the importance of sharing our light and love and making the world a brighter place every single day. We will take it to heart as well, and I hope you know that her beautiful legacy will live on through us and everyone she has known and touched.
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Sue Sullivan — 7/22/23
Tami and Joel you filled Ada with so much love that it overflowed on so many. I never got to know Ada personally but felt her love and loved her. I will always remember that smile, her energy and her love for everyone she met. She truly fought the good fight. She learned to love so deeply because you loved her so deeply Tami and Joel. can’t begin to know how you are feeling and you still wrote such a beautiful letter. Thank you.
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Sharon Clark — 7/22/23
Such a beautiful story, Joel. Thank you for sharing your heart amidst such sorrow. You, Tami and the entire family are such an inspiration. Ada certainly was. You were given a beautiful gift for five wonderful years and reciprocated with so much love and care. I know her “Thank you for loving me” statement is one that will live with you forever. Her light will continue to shine. Much love is sent to all of you💕.
Sharon
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Emily Karch — 7/22/23
I had the honor and privilege to be one Ada’s teachers. It is always hard to say goodbye to my students at the end of each school year, but this goodbye is by far the hardest. Her compassion for others was inspiring. She always brought so much laughter, spunk, and pure joy to my classroom.

I have so many wonderful memories of Ada. But the one shows that her one of a kind personality the most is when she stole my phone off the table and took selfies of her self and her friend. At first I was upset because she used my phone, but then looked at the pictures and couldn’t stop laughing. I am so grateful to have those photos now and that wonderful memory! I love you and I will miss you! Here is a heart for you! ❤️
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Neil Swenson — 7/22/23
So sorry for your loss! Ada was a remarkable person. The story that I remember most about Ada is at a hotel swimming pool in Stevens Point. Joel brought Oliver and Ada over for some splashes. We had a wonderful time playing with pool toys and each other. When it was time to leave, a couple of the pool toys were on the bottom of the pool. Ada insisted they were hers. Big people said that they were the hotels. Ada was very focused and assured that they were hers. After being drug out of the pool room, it was found out that they were hers. Glad we got to retrieve them for her later in the day.
This shows the incredible spunk, self assurance, and laser focus that Ada lived her life with. A life that was way too short. Our love goes out to all the people suffering this loss . We will always remember this spunky person.
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Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/22/23
We were just sharing that story at dinner. You captured it wonderfully!
Ron Felker — 7/22/23
Rest in peace sweet Ada! Your fighting spirit has been an inspiration to us all! You have taught us to find joy in each and everyday. Tami and Joel what a beautiful story you shared! Our hearts are breaking. We hold you all close in our hearts. Love you! ❤️
Cari Felker — 7/22/23
“Ada Strong” will always be a mantra for when people feel down or hurting. She showed everyone how to handle the tough times, with strength, curiosity and humor. Her love and antics for the Santa will be with me everyday. I am so happy it brought her joy, as she brought joy to so many. Love you all❤️
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Angela Peterson — 7/22/23
In moments of sadness or sickness, I think there are a lot of ideas of how someone “should” act and I love how Ada just skipped all of that and relentlessly committed to playing and having fun. I hope we can all harness that same spirit through the heartbreak. Holding you all so close to our hearts.
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Lara Collazo — 7/22/23
Ada left an impression on us far away in south Florida! We were so inspired by hearing of her adventures, her playfulness, her feisty and caring spirit. For someone so small to radiate so much love is remarkable... "Thank you for loving me" keeps echoing in my brain - just a few words and yet what a giant, beautiful sentiment that Ada put so simply. Her memory will move us to do good in this world and dance in the rain (which there is plenty of here, by the way). Joel and Tami, we are so moved and captivated and in awe of you as parents - thank you for allowing us to hear and celebrate and grow from Ada's story. - Lara Collazo
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Rachel Carlson — 7/22/23
Ada’s voice is one that has left a kiss on my heart. It seemed to often have some ‘rasp’ to it that was so uniquely her — I loved our chats in the many classrooms she and Nel shared. Her big smile is an image that I see so clearly even in this moment.

A favorite memory of mine was when Nel and Ada visited the splash pad early in her treatment. It was clear that her cancer was not going to slow her down. She ran through the water and dashed around the play structure. On that day I took a Polaroid of Ada and Nel on a nearby dock. I hold that ‘snapshot’ of joy deep in my heart.

May we all be ADA STRONG as we navigate what life brings.
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Amy Head — 7/22/23
Rest in peace dear Ada, I see your little face in my minds eye. I love your spirit and spunk. 💕 Ms. Amy (former teacher)
Matt Valkovic — 7/22/23
Joel and Tami, we are showing Andrew and Tommy pictures from your visit back in 2019. Ada and Andrew were these two spunky, smiley one year olds crawling over each other, trying to figure out how to build duplos and share food. Ada kept looking at Andrew with this look: “Eat your own food, buddy.” Oliver and Tommy were off building cities and railroads. The kids also enjoyed their parents dragging them to the obligatory brewery for lunch and beers. It was such a great visit. We love you and we are blessed to have known Ada. She will always be our friend.
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Vera Aiken — 7/22/23
Your kindness and joy for life shall live forever in our hearts! Rest in peace little one.
My favorite Ada memory was on Jasmin's 1yr old birthday. Jas started crying when she touched (and was supposed to smash the cake). From all people around Ada was the one that grabbed her a spoon and told her "it's okay", so Jasmin started to happily eating the cake. Her ability to see other's needs and care for them will always leave in our hearts!
Praying for you!
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Amanda Reed — 7/22/23
Tami and Joel. You and Ada are an inspiration for me and others. Holly let me know that Ada passed away this morning and my heart broke for all of you but then reading your post made me break down and sob and I’m so far removed from where you are.

She was so smart. For her to wake up and say “Thank you for loving me” gives me the chills. Forever you will know that she knew that she was loved fiercely.

We are keeping you all in our prayers.
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Ande Jones — 7/22/23
My thoughts and all my love are with you all! I feel very privileged to have been a part of Ada's life and in those brief moments where I saw her, it was obvious that she was truly special and strong! I'll never forget when she and my daughter played on the same soccer "team," watching them both willfully chose whether to or whether to not participate. I will always carry her in my heart and am here for anything you need! - Ande Jones
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Allison Voeller — 7/22/23
Our thoughts and prayers are with your family. We are so sorry to hear this update. We loved watching and hearing Ada play with your other kids in the backyard and at the park. Her imagination and love of being outside always made us smile. Keep all the special memories of Ada close to your heart. If you need anything in the days ahead, please let us know. -The Voeller Family
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Jennifer Smith — 7/22/23
I only knew Ada for a short time, but in that time she showed me how to live each day with joy no matter what is going on. She was definitely a feisty little girl, who had no trouble bossing us adults around. I enjoyed my time caring for her in the Casual Care center at St. Jude. My heart breaks today but I know she is completely healed and no longer in pain. Fly high sweet girl!
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Lance Paulson — 7/22/23
I hope it brings comfort for you to know how many people Ada touched and who came to love her….and, who have been inspired to try to be the amazing parents that you, Tami and Joel, are. Sending my family’s condolences.
Lauren Walsh — 7/22/23
Ada was light, love, and pure energy. Fiercely loyal to her family and even more beloved by them. All her life, even before becoming sick, she was a beacon of strength. It was a joy to watch her play with Bridget, Dillon & Claire. I always got a kick out of her desire to bring out snacks, bubbles, chalk, and anything else she could find to share with the neighborhood kids playing in the driveway.

The Swenson family has always been so kind and generous to us as neighbors and friends. It has been a privilege for us to give back to them during the past year in any way we could. We love you and Ada from the bottom of our hearts ❤️.
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Katie Shakman — 7/22/23
It’s amazing that with the weight of all that you must be feeling, and all you’ve been through, you are able to write something so beautiful. I think this shows the strength that we’ve come to know from reading about Ada here. Even having not known her, I will always have an image in my mind of a strong, sweet, joyful little Ada riding her bike through the halls, or pulling her family outside, spreading cheer and a fierce optimistic love wherever she goes. Ada truly gave a gift to the world, and that gift will continue to ripple through the world in the countless lives she touched. Love to all of you. ❤️
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Angie Paulson — 7/22/23
My clearest memory of Ada was the time my boys were playing at Blue Ridge Park and I saw Ada come out of the house. She just melted my heart because she so reminded me of Samuel when he was that age. Her personality was infectious! She was so sweet, so adorable, and full of life. My family is thinking of yours and sending our deepest sympathies.
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Mariah Hinz — 7/22/23
"Ms. Riah, Ms. Riah" as she tugs on my shirt. Ada always had something to show, something she wanted me to see. The sweetest, spunkiest girl who loved to make others laugh. I'll always remember her winter owl hat, the one she needed to have in her locker even if it wasn't winter anymore. Always curious and asking the big question, "why?" Ada forever kept us on our toes. She made such a big impact in the short amount of time she was given. The most beautiful guardian angel, the most persistent little girl. Sending the biggest hugs to you, Swenson family ❤️
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Candice Guy-Gaytán — 7/22/23
We were reminiscing about the last time we saw you all—how has it been 4 years?!? It was Ada’s first birthday and we spent it at Lake Tahoe and then celebrated at our house with a melted cake. I remember we had also just gotten our pup and Oliver wasn’t sure if she was friend or foe. Love you all so much!❤️❤️❤️
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Lindsey Leick — 7/22/23
Our favorite Ada story is from when we first met the fun, energetic Swenson clan at the park next to their house. Joel was telling us about their spunky their middle child and referred to her as a “walking [rude gesture involving a specific finger]” 😆 😆

What a kid! What a life. What a family ♥️♥️♥️
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Ann Arango — 7/22/23
So beautifully written. We are both so sorry. When I think about Ada, I will always remember that warmish day we had this spring, watching Ada with her cute hat tear down the sidewalk on her bike with the rest of the neighborhood kids. You used every moment to just let her be a normal kid.
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Linda Swenson — 7/22/23
Thanks Joel! So well said. Ada was truly an inspiration. I admired her strength, bravery and tenacity. Though we miss her she is at peace in Paradise and for that I am grateful 😇. Prayers for you, the kids, grandparents and siblings 🙏🏻. ❤️L
Julio Vega — 7/22/23
We loved seeing photos of her riding her bike and being endlessly curious about the world around her. We were always amazed how she never let illnesses slow her down and how she brought joy and play to her family and doctors alike. We send y'all all the love in our hearts. J & A
Tricia Feiertag — 7/22/23
We remember Ada and the twins playing at the pool and meeting up again all masked up on frozen lake Mendota. A good reminder to slow down to enjoy simple things. And we remember how cute she looked tearing around in her “super crazy” bike helmet. Sending you all so much love.
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Sara Berndt — 7/22/23
Rest in peace Ada 🩷 We are thinking of you all during this very difficult time. Ada had a special and inspiring gift to persevere through anything and more importantly to find joy and fun anywhere. She clearly inherited that from her parents. Ada touched so many people in her short but impactful time and definitely lived life to the fullest. Hold tight to those memories. We will try and find some fun today in honor of Ada! 💜
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Mike Poe — 7/22/23
I loved Ada's never-ending curiosity. How after having a question answered she refused to believe there wasn't more that could be said and continued to always ask "why?"
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 7/22/23
Our sweet Ada rest in peace now. I'm going to miss my little ' red rum' buddy. You will forever be in my heart. Sending prayers & my love to everyone
Becky Aiken — 7/22/23
Sending all of you all of the love and support in the world. We love you so much!

My favorite Ada story is coming over to your house for brunch, and Ada being so excited to show us her room and toys. Then we went downstairs for more toys, and she took a baby doll and squished it's head in the cup holder of the couch. So mischievous and silly! I think about that often and laugh. ❤️
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Laura Aiken — 7/22/23
The world is a brighter place from having Ada in it❤️ I'll never forget her enthusiasm, joy, and empathy - I remember at Jasmin's first birthday party, Jas was crying about getting cake on her hand and Ada was one of the first to run up to her and try to cheer her up. Her love of spreading kindness and joy was remarkable! Sending you all of my love, today and always ❤️❤️
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Monica Dull — 7/22/23
The first time I really got to meet Ada was at our Christmas meet & greet party that some of my neighbors & I hosted at my house with all the new families who had moved in. Ada’s beautiful smile lit up the room! She was such a happy 1 year old. Joel was holding Ada & playing a game with her. She smiled so big & I was captivated by her joy!
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Mariah Zenz — 7/22/23
Not only did I get the honor of having sweet Ellie in my class, but that meant daily window visits from Miss Ada ❤️ She would dance, make silly faces, jump around, and tell us funny little stories just to make her sister (and us) laugh and smile! When Ada was diagnosed we missed our window visits but we were so unbelievably happy to see her continue to spread that joy everywhere she went. Today is undoubtedly a sad day, but the world is so much brighter and better because of her. I am so lucky to have been touched by her light even for a short time, and will continue to spread love and kindness in her honor. Sending all of my love to you guys today and always ❤️
-Miss Mariah
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Bethanee Rageth — 7/22/23
I second this! Ada was always so excited to come visit Ellie at the window 🩷 She was such a sweet, bright little lady filled with so much love! I will always do my very best to share her positivity and kindness to honor her memory. Sending your family so much love and light and hugs. ❤️❤️❤️ - Ms. Bethanee
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Denise D — 7/22/23
I remember Ada and Oliver (and Ellie!) delighting in our Halloween witches. Seeing them brought us so much joy.
I remember how you spontaneously joined our Halloween party - she had a ball and it was so fun to see her and all of you enjoying the campfire. What a lovely, lucky girl to have a family like you, and what a lucky family to have a girl like Ada.
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Molly Murgatroyd — 7/22/23
Joel and Tami, I’m in awe of you both. You are an inspiration as parents and I know Ada’s life was so special and fulfilled because of you. I am immensely sorry for your loss.

My favorite chapter in Ada’s battle was the off season, large, plastic Santa (I believe gifted by Tami’s sister?) that she took with her everywhere for awhile. That is so amazingly quirky and I’m sure she brought joy to so many people who needed it when they saw her with it.

Thinking of your family often and praying for peace.
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Jana Montgomery — 7/22/23
I can’t imagine how this last year has been for your family. I’m so sorry and sending all the love and grace to all of you.
Having never met Ada but knowing Joel and keeping up to date on CaringBridge, I know how smart, caring, fun, loving, and brave she was. My favorite stories were those of endless play. Where she wanted to explore more hallways on bicycles and make more friends, even when she was expected to be too tired or sick! She clearly had an immense love for people and adventure and learning. What a great lesson for all of us to learn to dance in the rain.
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Shelby Pellerin — 7/22/23
I think my favorite Ada story is the night I met her! At tridelta she was playing in the hall, we had our sparkley curtain hanging on the door and she loves it! I started talking to her and when I opened my door the decided she definitely need to come in and see what we had in our room!

She knew no fear!

We learned so much from her! Make joy any where you go even if it's a sticker tail! And always always make others smile!

We love you sweet Ada! We are so lucky we got to meet you, even on for a short while on your journey!
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Mihaela Delagrave — 7/22/23
My heart breaks for all of you. She’s not in pain any more, and I’m sure her big beautiful wings make her extremely happy. I did not get to spend much time with Ada, but I will never forget her smile and her sassy personality. We had a special song to help her calm down whenever emotions were hard to handle, she loved the little “spider” crawling around on her arms and the tickles. I know she not only put lots of smiles on the faces of those who got the privilege to meet her, but tremendously impacted a lot of lives and taught strength and resilience. Sending you healing love.
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Amy Pawlitzke — 7/22/23
Ada. Sweet, curious, feisty Ada. For years, she often beat Elsie in greeting me at the door of their daycare classroom. She always had a new talent, a project or a story to share with me. It became part of my daily routine that I cherished.
Their little classroom posse was a force to be reckoned with. Giggles and goofies that meant extra long goodbyes because no one wanted the fun to end.
I’m so glad the goodbyes were long.
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Bette J Reko — 7/22/23
Our hearts are broken. May the love of family and friends give you the strength during this difficult time and the days ahead. Sending our sympathy and love to you and your family.
Maggie Goldbach — 7/22/23
Ada grabbed my badge and (in pure Ada fashion) demanded that we switch roles. Ada became Ms. Maggie and Ms. Maggie became Ada. She made darn certain that we introduced ourselves like that all the way up to the playroom :) Ada will forever live on and most definitely never be forgotten.
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Deb Berndt — 7/22/23
What a beautiful story. Love to all. Thank you Ada for the time you were with us. We will miss you ❤️❤️

July 21, 2023

Another quick update...and one I've always dreaded writing. Nothing has worked for Ada. She received treatment through Tuesday of this week and then that night pain consumed her and the cancer came roaring back. Typically treatment would slow things down for weeks at a time but lately she has been blasting through treatments as fast as we can give them. We've tried everything and talked to all the experts, all that's left is to get her pain under control and enjoy the time we have left. It took a few days and LOTS of morphine (and other meds), but she is finally resting (here at the hospital in Madison). Based on this and her breathing patterns, we were told she has hours or maybe days left. We are spending every remaining moment just holding her and talking to her. She is comfortable and right now that is all that matters.

As always thank you all for your support and love, we've relied so much on all of you. We will provide another update in the coming days.

Love Tami and Joel

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Raghu Kainkaryam — 7/22/23
Very sad to hear this news. Your and Ada's efforts to fight this were heroic and have been deeply moving and inspiring. Lots of love and regards to your family. ❤️‍🩹
Heather Sheehan — 7/22/23
You are a special family, and certainly one I hold in my heart. Thinking of you all.
Samantha Pieper — 7/22/23
Prayers for everyone during this difficult time
Aniek Janssen — 7/22/23
Sending you so much love…
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 7/22/23
My prayers are with all of you. I love you all so much.
Jane Klimenko — 7/22/23
May Ada and you find peace. I've never met her but I won't forget her story. My heart aches for you all.
Amy Fideli — 7/21/23
We are deeply saddened to hear this news. Thinking of you and sending much love
Gene Cecchettini — 7/21/23
Rae and I are so saddened to hear the latest news. We send our love and caring to you all.
David Drummond — 7/21/23
This is heartbreaking...we'll be thinking of you all.
Carly Eaton — 7/21/23
So sad to hear this heartbreaking news. Sending your family so much love.
Summer Rector — 7/21/23
We are deeply saddened to hear this news. Sending you all our love and prayers.
Brett & Julie Cable — 7/21/23
I am so sorry to hear this heartbreaking news. Sending our love and prayers to your family.
Cathy McCorkell — 7/21/23
We are so very sorry to hear this. May the Lord comfort you during this very difficult time. 🙏❤️
Elisabeth Gibbons — 7/21/23
Sharing in your sadness and thinking of you, parents and family. I’m so, so sorry for this news.
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 7/21/23
Love to your entire family during this challenging time.
Eric J. Daza — 7/21/23
Thank you for this impossibly hard update, Tami and Joel. I am so, so very sorry to hear this. I will be thinking of y'all, and hope that you, Ada, and others you love will be together as much as possible.
Eric J. Daza — 7/22/23
If it will help, please tell Ada that Eric and Sharkey 🦈 are waving hello all the way from California—and sending her all their love! ♥️♥️♥️
Laura McCorkell — 7/21/23
I am so sorry. My heart just breaks reading this. Prayers for some sort of comfort in these coming days. I’m so thankful Ada is comfortable
Linda Swenson — 7/21/23
Heartbreaking news 😢. Praying for Ada and all of her family, especially you two extraordinary parents, enduring what you have been through 🙏🏻😘
Angie Paulson — 7/21/23
We are just heartbroken to read this update. I’m so sorry. We love you guys.
don carlson — 7/21/23
We are so sorry to hear this. Ada is such a fighter and an amazing spirit. Our hearts are broken.
Janine Zabel — 7/21/23
My heart breaks for all of you. Ada has been so courageous during this battle. You and Joel have done all you can for your precious girl and so has her big brother. Sending prayers of peace, strength and healing for your beautiful family. 🙏🙏🙏
Alison Pelger — 7/21/23
So many prayers for all of you.
jeannie tauchman — 7/21/23
I am so sorry. You have done everything that you could for your precious girl. We are sending you love
allison shapiro — 7/21/23
You’ve done everything and so much more. Ada and the family have my whole heart today. Wishing you comfort, peace, and strength.
Kate Engel — 7/21/23
Can’t imagine the pain you and your kids are feeling for Ada. What an unbelievable and impossibly difficult journey to go through, and I’m so sorry to read this. You’re such wonderful parents to her and have done every single thing you could. My heart is with you.
Lindsey Leick — 7/21/23
♥️♥️♥️ ♥️♥️😢
Ron Felker — 7/21/23
There are no words, you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. Love you all so much 💗
Beth Didreckson — 7/21/23
So very sorry. There just aren’t words. 🙏
Debbie McKenzie — 7/21/23
Joel and Tami, there are just no words other than we are so sorry. Sending you love and strength. We are here if you need us.
Kara Tauchman — 7/21/23
I am so sorry.
Erin Lavery — 7/21/23
I am so sorry.
Stephanie Valkovic — 7/21/23
Our hearts are breaking for your family. You all have fought such a courageous and inspiring fight - Ada’s spirit is stronger than her little body. Praying for her and for you all, for peace and comfort
Denise D — 7/21/23
I am so sorry to hear this. We will continue to keep Ada and your family in our prayers.
Aaron Hardin — 7/21/23
I can't even imagine the pain that is in your hearts.
Ann Arango — 7/21/23
No words for something like this. Hoping all of our aching hearts are somehow holding you up right now.
Estelle Couradeau — 7/21/23
You are all so brave. Nobody should have to go through that much pain. I am sending you all the love I have in my heart. ❤️
Anya Makarov — 7/21/23
I'm so sorry... this is beyond heartbreaking. Ada is such a strong girl and she is surrounded by the people that love her during this difficult time. Keeping you all in my thoughts.
Alicia Swenson — 7/21/23
Heartbroken for you both. Keeping you in my thoughts.
Claire Bain — 7/21/23
I've been following your Caring Bridge for a long while. I work with Joel at Evidation and am holding your family so so close right now.
Sarah Ryan — 7/21/23
So sorry to hear this news. We're thinking about your family!
Katie Shakman — 7/21/23
I am so sorry, Swensons. Sending my love to you all
Peter Mullen — 7/21/23
We’re thinking about you all and sending a lot of love
Nell Marshall — 7/21/23
Sending you love and strength. This is devastating news.
Kari Powell — 7/21/23
Holding you all in our hearts. We love you.
Melanie Ball Smith — 7/21/23
My heart breaks for you and your family. Sending you all my love.
Molly Murgatroyd — 7/21/23
Thinking of your family and just devastated for you all. Sending love your way.
Candice Guy-Gaytán — 7/21/23
Wrapping you all in love. ❤️
Sharon Clark — 7/21/23
So many broken hearts and no words to comfort. For that sweet girl being out of pain is a blessing but for her wonderful family it’s more than heartbreaking. I love you all.
Sharon
Lance Paulson — 7/21/23
God is waiting for Ada. She will never be alone or without love as she passes from your arms into his.
Bill Hinton — 7/21/23
May God bless you and your family and keep you strong.
Amy Pawlitzke — 7/21/23
Sending you all so much love.
Erika Ulinskaite — 7/21/23
I am so sorry 😢. Love to all , my heart is aching just thinking about you all 🙏🏻
Sara Berndt — 7/21/23
That is such heartbreaking news. You all have been amazing fighters, especially Ada. Thinking of you all. ❤️
katy barber — 7/21/23
I am so sorry. You all fought so hard. I am praying and sending my love to you all.
Luthien Niland — 7/21/23
Oh Tami and Joel, I am so sorry. I wish I had better or useful words. I love you all and am holding you all in my heart.
Cari Felker — 7/21/23
Tami and Joel, there are no words that can be said. We love you all and are here for you.
Kathy Kaufman — 7/21/23
I am so sorry. We are praying for a peaceful transition for Ada. Heaven will certainly be getting a very special Angel and they are getting her beautiful wings ready. We are also praying for Joel, Tami, Ollie and Ellie and all your family and friends In this incredibly difficult time
Julio Vega — 7/21/23
Lots of love for everyone! ❤️❤️❤️
Laura Aiken — 7/21/23
Sending you so much love ❤️
Sapna Thottathil — 7/21/23
I am so sorry, Joel and Tami. We are sending you love and thinking of your family.
Jordan Wiklund — 7/21/23
All the love possible, Swensons.
Becky Aiken — 7/21/23
Ross and I are sending you all the love in the universe ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Ridhi Gupta — 7/21/23
Sending lots of love to Ada and to the whole family.
Deb Berndt — 7/21/23
Tami and Joel
We want you to know we are praying for you and your family and especially Ada. If there is anything you need please let us know❤️❤️❤️
Mindy Sarjapur — 7/21/23
Sending our love and support to Ada and the whole family.
Nicole Marie — 7/21/23
My heart breaks for you all. Holding space for grief and the special, painful joy of this love you will always share with her.
Kay aiken — 7/21/23
So sorry to read this. Love you all...
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 7/21/23
The DeSouza family is heart broken for Ada and your entire family. Sending you love and support through this time.❤️
Eyal Halamish
July 21, 2023
Hi Joel, It's been a while, but I wanted to send you lots of love and support. Love your old roommate,

July 16, 2023

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July 16, 2023

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July 16, 2023

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July 16, 2023

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July 16, 2023

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July 15, 2023

Right now Ada is sleeping very peacefully. Her will to play constantly amazes me so I thought that I'd share a few stories.

Today she received a medication (tagraxofusp) that she has never received before, there is a fairly high incidence of side effects associated with it so there were 3 doctors, 3 nurses, and a pharmacist all in the room or nearby to monitor her during administration. She was pre-treated with Benadryl (among other things) to try to minimize the chance of side effects. Around 5 minutes after receiving tagraxofusp her face swelled up quite a bit so they gave her more Benadryl (among other things). Many of you know that Benadryl makes you sleepy, Ada is also on several pain medications that make her sleepy, never-the-less her eyes fluttered open a little, she sat up (eyes mostly closed) and she was excited to have an audience in her room. She seemed a little unsure of what to do and was just sitting there with her eyes closed, she didn't want to lay back down so I went and got her one of her dogs thinking that she might want to show them that. She took it from my hands and with her eyes closed and face very puffy (still sitting up) she reached under the dog and turned on the annoying bark. Now when it barks its mouth also opens and closes so Ada asked for goldfish, she then shoved a goldfish in the barking mouth as it opened. Next, she pointed at one of the doctors and held out her goldfish, it was clear that she wanted the doctor to do it. She then proceeded to point to every person (seemingly with her eyes still closed and half asleep...not sure how she was keeping track of turns) and command them to feed her dog. Someone tried to go twice and was denied by Ada, after everyone had a turn she picked a few more lucky people (and good sports) to feed her dog on last time. After that was done she asked me for her make-up kit and pointed to the attending doctor, indicating that she was going to get her make-up done. The doctor was very sweet (and very brave) and let Ada put blush (or whatever the stuff that goes on cheeks with a fluffy brush is called) and eye shadow on her. Those are the kind of people that they have on staff here to let a half-asleep 5-year-old put make-up on them! After Ada was done she grabbed her magnifying glass and inspected first one cheek, then the next, then the right eye, and then the left!

Another quick story is that when Ada was home she had a lot of good times but her pain was getting bad at night the last few nights. She didn't have any IV meds available to her during this outpatient stay so Tami or I would administer oral pain meds and do our best to distract her while waiting for the meds to kick in (~20-40 minutes). I was trying stories, songs, jokes, etc and it wasn't working so I started singing a song from my childhood: "Riding down the highway, highway 54, grandma let a big one, it blew me out the door" (Ada stops crying for a few seconds to make a large fart sound) "the engine couldn't take it, the wheels they fell apart, all because of grandma's super sonic fart" (Ada again makes a large fart sound between sobs).

A few days ago we were at the hospital and Ada was in terrible pain, getting lots and lots of morphine, needing to go on oxygen (morphine can depress respiration), and generally scaring everyone (it was pretty serious). After several hours of this the pain was finally under control and Ada sat up and said "lets go to the playroom". The nurses and doctors thought that she should rest and were worried that the pain would flare up so they kept trying to distract her or asked if they could bring her toys, she said "no, I want to go to the playroom" so we went there and played! :)

Above are just a few stories showing how tough she is. She has not lost her wit, her desire to play, her desire to care for others. We love her so much.

As always, thanks for your continued support.

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Becky Remsha — 7/19/23
What classic stories! She's truly a spunky kid. We'd get along well :)
Amanda Reed — 7/17/23
I love the stories you share about Ada! Feeding the barking dog goldfish, putting makeup on the dr. You are all an amazing team helping take care of each other!
Janine Zabel — 7/16/23
Ada continues to amaze! Keep fighting, sweetie! We continue to send prayers of strength and healing to you and your family. 🙏💕🙏
Linda Swenson — 7/16/23
She is REMARKABLE!! Keep up your spirit Ada😘. I am still praying for a Miracle healing for you sweet girl 🙏🏻🥰
Tanya McDonnell — 7/16/23
Awe what great stories of Ada! Thanks for sharing. She and you are all so strong! Thinking of you all very often daily.
Cari Felker — 7/16/23
Her stories of strength and overall feistiness always warms my heart. She is a warrior like her parents and grandparents.
Such an example for so many. The kindness and support we saw yesterday from your community for your lemonade stand was beyond belief. So many well wishes.
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Nicole Burm — 7/16/23
Love the stories! Thank you for sharing. ❤️
Kathryn Sederberg — 7/16/23
What a strong kid! I loved these stories. Her resilience is inspiring. Thinking of you and your family.
Kay aiken — 7/15/23
What an amazing girl. Thank you for sharing these stories. Love you!
Alicia Swenson — 7/15/23
What an amazing, brave, sweet, funny, and courageous girl (and I’m sure a million other things). Thanks for the updates. Thinking of you all often. Sending love from afar.
Debbie McKenzie — 7/15/23
Ada is such an amazing girl! You are all in our thoughts, sending love and positive vibes!
Cathy McCorkell — 7/15/23
Thank you once again for reminding us all what is really important. Ada is in our prayers often. We pray for a miracle but in all ways Ada is a miracle. Her spunk, her ability to keep fighting is truly an inspiration. 🙏🙏❤️
Mindy Sarjapur — 7/15/23
She is such a strong and resilient kiddo! Sending love and positive, healing thoughts.
Rachel Carlson — 7/15/23
Ada is truly amazing! It seems she continues to show her super powers… Sending so much love. xx
Lance Paulson — 7/15/23
Ada’s and your family’s story changes all who are touched by it and makes us want to be more loving and thankful for our blessings.
Sue Sullivan — 7/15/23
You are amazing parents . Ada is blessed to have both of you and you are blessed to have such a special little girl. Sending love and prayers.
Laura McCorkell — 7/15/23
These stories are so precious. What an amazing little girl. Thank you for sharing these stories. I was laughing and crying reading this. Praying for all of you day by day
Lindsey Leick — 7/15/23
Your stories touch our hearts and remind us what’s important and beautiful (fart noises, bad makeup and terrible parent songs are waaayy up on the list)

Thank you Swenson family for giving us all so much 🤗 ❤️ we are with you!
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Penny Agar — 7/15/23
Ada is such an amazing little girl! Ada and her family are in our prayers every day. 💜

Rick & Penny
Luthien Niland — 7/15/23
Ada is amazing! I love these stories, thank you for sharing. Of course you would raise a kid who must make farting songs during one of your silly songs - you have always shared silly joy with everyone around you and Ada takes after you.
Sharon Clark — 7/15/23
So glad that Ada is such a spunky child in spite of her illness. Also glad that Tami and Joel find time to keep us all informed. Thank you both and God bless❤️🙏

July 15, 2023

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July 15, 2023

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July 15, 2023

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July 15, 2023

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July 15, 2023

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July 14, 2023

I want to write a quick update since so much has happened over the past couple of weeks. We managed to get Ada home for a few days (from Saturday through Wednesday this past week) and it was challenging, but also so great to have everyone home! She hadn't been home since April (when we left for St. Louis)! Our goal was to get her back at least for part of the day on Saturday so she could be part of her 'bedroom reveal'. This was through an incredible organization, Special Spaces. They transform kids' (with cancer) bedrooms into their dream special space. We filled out a questionnaire about Ada's favorites, met with a few people from Special Spaces and then let them design Ada's dream bedroom. We had no idea what it was going to look like and I was a bit nervous about how Ada would handle coming home for the first time in months to a new bedroom AND to a house full of people celebrating her and her bedroom. It went WAY better than expected. She opened her bedroom door and got right to work playing with Oliver and Ellie in her new beautiful bedroom. This included going down the slide from her bed, putting makeup on Ellie at her little table, painting everyone's nails, reading books, playing with new toys and befriending everyone else that was there. I can't believe how well she handled the big reveal after being stuck in a hospital for so long.

The few days at home after that were up and down. We knew getting Ada home was going to be a challenge because of her pain, nausea and just all of her medical needs. While she LOVED running around with Oliver, Ellie and the neighbors, her pain continued to get worse. She wasn't sleeping well at night (and of course, neither were we) and we just couldn't get her comfortable. It was heartbreaking to hold her while she was in pain waiting for the copious amounts of medicine to kick in. We ended up going back to the hospital on Wednesday and she started another round of chemo right away. She is now on Day 3 of the treatment and will get a new drug starting tomorrow. Of course there is the possibility of a miracle that this works and we continue to fight for her, but the reality according to experts across the country and our own reading of the medical literature, is that it is extremely unlikely to get her into remission. At least between the chemo and lots of morphine, her pain is better controlled. However, all of this is also making her very sleepy. For a while, when she wasn't awake in pain, she was sleeping. Fortunately, the last few days have been better. She has had more awake time and still gets enough energy to make her way to the play room, walk the therapy dog (Cola), feed her babies bubbles and play-doh, harass the nurses and walk the hospital hallways with her siblings and grandparents. 

We fear what the next days or weeks will bring, but we know we are in excellent hands here. Our main goal is to keep Ada comfortable and happy for as long as possible. We don't know if that will be here in the hospital or at home. You all have been such an incredible support system. We appreciate everyone's kind words and checking in :) 

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Jennifer Hollenbeck — 7/15/23
Thank you for taking time for the update with so much going on. We will always be thinking of Ada and hoping for a positive outcome. What a sweet girl! #TEAMADA
Barb Mullen — 7/15/23
You are an inspiration in so many ways. Your posts remind me to always look for the positives and to be grateful for every single little thing. We need this spirit in our lives. Prayers, prayers and more prayers. Tammy and Joel, you are amazing.
Luthien Niland — 7/15/23
I love you all so much ❤️
Janine Zabel — 7/15/23
What a magical space you created for her to explore with her siblings while she was home. Sending prayers of strength, love, and healing to you all; as you continue to rally around your sweet Ada!🙏💕🙏
Ann Arango — 7/15/23
It was so wonderful seeing you all together on the driveway when we got home this week! We’re always right here if you need anything at all.
Kay aiken — 7/15/23
What a special girl your Ada is. It breaks our hearts to hear of her pain, but it shows her spirit when she takes advantage of the times she feels up to playing and exploring. We send you all our love, care and concern.
Aniek Janssen — 7/15/23
Amazing to hear you had a couple of great days with Ada at home. We continue to send you love and strength, and hoping for a miracle. Much love, Coen & Aniek
Kari Powell — 7/14/23
Thank you for the update. Sending much love and praying constantly for a miracle.
Ann and Craig Swenson — 7/14/23
Ada is an inspirational little girl! We continue to hope that your miracle comes true! Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.
Stephanie Valkovic — 7/14/23
Sending our love to you all. So glad Ada was able to experience and enjoy her beautiful bedroom makeover and time at home with your family and her friends. Keeping you in our continued thoughts and prayers
Lance Paulson — 7/14/23
Always in our prayers, Ada, Ellie, Oliver and Mom and Dad.
Amy Zirk — 7/14/23
Praying for comfort for all.
Linda Swenson — 7/14/23
Tami, you and Joel are amazing !! I’m so happy for all the support you have! If David and I can help out in any way, we’d be honored.
We keep praying for Ada’s miracle healing and with God we believe all things are possible 🙏🏻😘 L
Brad Swenson — 7/14/23
Your family's strength and hope is remarkable. We continue to think of you often and pray for the best for Ada.

July 4, 2023

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July 4, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/3/23
What a goof!

July 4, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/3/23
I love seeing that smile!

July 4, 2023

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July 3, 2023

It has been a tough few days. Ada's current treatment (which she started 11 days ago) is based on an in vitro drug sensitivity assay we did with her cancer cells which suggested that a 3 drug combo recently used in a handful of patients might be effective against Ada's cancer. While her cancer was knocked down for around a week it has blasted through the medications with the cancer again present in her peripheral blood. At this point we've exhausted all typical AML treatments and the relevant clinical trials. Her cancer is like her, insanely tough and resilient. One doctor said that it is the most resistant AML that he has ever seen. In addition to our amazing team at UW Health we remain in contact with experts throughout the country. There is one more combination of treatments that we want to try if her little body is up for it. The past few months we have started to see the cumulative effects of >1 year of different treatments. Right now she still has more good time in the day than bad time but it's heartbreaking to see her in as much pain as she is and that ratio is headed in the wrong direction.

We continue to try our best to enjoy the good times and make her day as good as we can for her. Highlights include lots of visits from her siblings, visits from her aunt, uncle, and cousins from Florida, visits from family friends and former teachers, visits (and tons of help!) from the grandparents, Ada demanding daddy put a squish mallow on his head and walk around the hallways ("I'll hold your hand so you don't run into anything"...it was pitch black and I was also helping her push her IV pole), Ada being reunited with all her amazing health care providers at her "home" hospital, a syringe painting party in the playroom, lots of goofing around in the playroom, making her barking dog eat goldfish (unfortunately the soundbox still works), making her baby alive doll eat clay and watch it poop it out, getting birthday cards from what seems like every student and staff member at her former daycare (Inspire), etc.

We couldn't focus on her and our other kids as much without all your continued physical and virtual support so thank you all!

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Vera Aiken — 7/6/23
Thanks for the update.
Keeping our prayers and positive thoughts! We love you, Ada!
David Drummond — 7/5/23
Thanks for the update, we're all thinking of you and hoping for the best. You're all so brave and strong for your resilience.
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 7/5/23
Remaining positive every day that Ada will prevail against this dreaded disease. Sending love and hugs from Bergstrom GM of Oshkosh
Lisa Schmitt — 7/5/23
Sending love and prayers for all of you.
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 7/4/23
Sending you all love, support, and hope this next one is THE one to kick this cancer right out of her!
katy barber — 7/4/23
You are in my prayers every day. You are such an amazing family.
Linda Swenson — 7/4/23
Praying for that amazing little girl and all of you too. Love y’all 🥰
Aniek Janssen — 7/4/23
Sending much love ❤️ 🍀
Nicholas Torres — 7/3/23
♥️
Lance Paulson — 7/3/23
The longer I live, the less I know and understand of God’s plan. Still, what is clear to me is that God chose you to be Ada’s mom and dad and the love and care you have been blessed to give her is holy in it’s own right. Always in our prayers.
Janine Zabel — 7/3/23
So sorry to hear this news. Keeping you all in our thoughts and sending healing prayers to sweet, strong Ada. 🙏❤️🙏
Kay aiken — 7/3/23
So sorry to read this. Your daughter is simply amazing. Sending you all our love.
Mindy, Charan, Rohan & Ari
July 3, 2023
Sending Ada and the whole family tons of love and positive energy. Wish we were closer to give you all a great big hug.

June 19, 2023

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June 19, 2023

Ann Arango — 6/19/23
He is so tall!!! Love the look on Ada’s face!

June 19, 2023

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June 19, 2023

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June 19, 2023

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June 19, 2023

Wow, it has been a while since I have written an update here. I wish I had more positive things to say except that we are headed back to Wisconsin either today or tomorrow and unfortunately it's not because the treatment here worked. It's because it failed. While Oliver's NK cells initially knocked down Ada's cancer, it wasn't enough. The cancer remained relatively steady the following few weeks. Ada started to be in a lot of pain (presumably due to the cancer and inflammation) so we started some more chemotherapy 2 weeks ago. The idea was that what she started would not affect the NK cells but after 2 weeks of the chemo it was obvious that it wasn't doing anything even for the cancer. So then we decided to give her another chemo to make Ada more comfortable, but at the cost of affecting the NK cells. She got a dose of cytarabine a few days ago. Between that and the changes in pain meds, Ada has been so much happier and more comfortable the past few days! It has been a really tough few weeks seeing her so miserable so it has been a huge relief seeing her perk up lately. It also helps that we will be getting a medical flight directly from St Louis to UW and she is really excited for both the fun transportation and to see her old hospital friends (medical staff). 

When we get back to UW hospital we will be starting another treatment consisting of three drugs that are typically used for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (not AML) but there are some data suggesting it could work for Ada's specific AML. At this point we are just willing to try anything with the very small chance that something works. On the bright side we will all be back in the same city again. Oliver gets to go to summer school and Ellie will have some normalcy being at home. Since mid-April I have only been home for 2 weeks so I am looking forward to not living in a hospital room and getting to sleep in a real bed!! As always, thanks for everyone's positive thoughts and check-ins. If you feel like you want to do more, we have opened up the meal train again (see the ways to help tab up top). 

I almost forgot to mention one of the best things that happened while we were in St Louis. Allie, the amazing child life specialist here, helped put together a birthday party for Ada at the hospital when both Oliver and Ellie were here. All Ada wanted was Chewbacca to attend her party. And Allie found a way to make it happen!! Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and a few other characters showed up and played pin the horn on the unicorn and helped us celebrate. Chewbacca even held up the pinata for us! It was an incredible and very memorable experience!!

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Mindy Sarjapur — 6/22/23
What an awesome and super-cute birthday surprise. We’re sending tons of positive thoughts and energy Ada’s way for the next round of treatment.
Aniek Janssen — 6/20/23
What a great B-day surprise for Ada! Sending you positive thoughts and much love.
Kay aiken — 6/19/23
Love you all...
Sue Sullivan — 6/19/23
WOW! i would think a little girl would be afraid of that big hairy guy. Ada is a tuff little one. keep fighting Ada🙏🙏🙏
Amanda Reed — 6/19/23
What an amazing birthday party. I wish you had better news about the NK trial.
🙏🧡🙏🧡🙏
Tanya McDonnell — 6/19/23
That’s awesome about the special birthday party with Chewbacca and that you’ll all be home reunited. Wish it was under better circumstances but continuing in positive thoughts that the next treatment works. Also glad to hear she’s feeling a bit better too.
Bethanee Rageth — 6/19/23
Such an exciting birthday party! Sending lots of positive thoughts your way!! 💛
Sharon Clark — 6/19/23
Thank you for the update. Prayers continue from this end🙏💕
Janine Zabel — 6/19/23
Safe travels back to Madison. Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers. 🙏❤️🙏
Denise D — 6/19/23
I am so happy that Chewbacca made the party. Safe travels back to Madison. We are in and out a bit, but Chewbacca is a close friend of mine, so if we are around and Ada would like another visit from Chewy, we can make that happen. (It’s Denise, from the Witch’s house)
Ann Arango — 6/19/23
So glad to hear you’ll be back home. We missed you all!
Jane Klimenko — 6/19/23
Safe travels home! Glad you get to be together and that party looks like it was great fun. Happy birthday to Ada!
Luthien Niland — 6/19/23
How is Chewbacca so tall?!? What a really cute wish from Ada, I'm so glad they could make that happen for her. Ada is so lucky to have you and Joel and Ellie and Oliver - I'm so sorry St. Louis didn't work, love you all.
Angie Paulson — 6/19/23
Enjoy the flight Ada ✈️ i bet you’re excited to see your AFCH nurse friends!! Our prayers continue!!
Laura Aiken — 6/19/23
Sending all my love 💖💖💖 what a magical birthday for sweet Ada!
Lindsey Leick — 6/19/23
Much love to you all. You are the most amazing family! We will be thinking of you and praying for you ❤️

June 8, 2023

Cheryl Clark — 6/21/23
Sisters😍

June 8, 2023

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June 8, 2023

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June 8, 2023

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June 8, 2023

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June 8, 2023 - Happy Birthday Ada

Today is Ada's birthday! She is excited about it and excited to turn 5! I wish that I could be there with her but I will get to celebrate in St Louis with her on Sunday. Tami decorated her room last night after Ada fell asleep and the hospital has already dropped off some presents and goodies for Ada to have on her birthday. I'm sure that she will have some fun activities today and I know that she will enjoy telling everyone that its her birthday. I told her that she should ask everyone who comes into her room to sing her happy birthday :) . In the hospital notes her mood/behavior is often described as: cheerful, insightful, interested, playful, limit-testing, persistent, teaches others, debates suggestions, problem solving, etc. She is all of those things and more. To me she has demonstrated more bravery, courage, and will to play and be happy than any kid that I know. We love her so much, happy 5th birthday "sweetie-heart".

Fortunately her knee pain (and general pain) has gotten much better in the past few days. Yesterday she was out of bed a lot more than previous days. She enjoyed biking through the hallway, scavenger hunts in the hallway, and by far her favorite activity was playing with Ellie in the garden (Tami and my mom were there too but little sister is the best). Hopefully her pain levels and energy levels continue to improve.

If anyone wants to email or text us a video of them or their children saying "Happy Birthday" to Ada please do! She lights up on seeing videos of others talking to her. I know that everyone wants her to "get better soon" but she really doesn't dwell on it or think of herself as sick and we don't want her to dwell on that today so share a fun memory instead or comment on something you've seen on the blog or just say "Happy Birthday". :)

As always, thanks for your support!
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Barb Mullen — 6/10/23
Yahoo!! Five years old! You go girl! Happy Birthday!
Sue Sullivan — 6/9/23
Happy birthday happy happy Birthday 🎂🎉🎈
Tanya McDonnell — 6/9/23
Happy Birthday Ada!!!
Marlene Zeman — 6/8/23
Happy Happy 5th Birthday Ada! Have a super duper fun filled day . Wear your best party hat and your favorite stuffy too.🥳🎉🥳🎈🎂🥳🎉🥳
Angie Paulson — 6/8/23
Happy birthday Ada!! Hope you are having a fun-filled day
Linda Swenson — 6/8/23
Sweet Ada, Happy Birthday to you! You are the bravest 5 year old I know 🎂😘🌸
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 6/8/23
Happy Birthday, Ada and Grandpa Tim!!🌻🥳
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 6/8/23
Happy Birthday Ada!! 🥳🎂🥳
Erika Ulinskaite — 6/8/23
Happy birthday dear Ada!!!
Hope you enjoy your special day 🎊🥳🎂!!!!
Erin Lynn — 6/8/23
Happy happy birthday Ada!!! 🎂🎈
Jane Klimenko — 6/8/23
Happy birthday, dear Ada!
Robert Arango — 6/8/23
Hi Ada, we hope that you have a wonderful birthday!!!! Your neighbors - Ann and Bob from across the street.
Kay aiken — 6/8/23
Happy birthday, sweet Ada!! We love you.
Julie Leuthold — 6/8/23
🫠 HaPpY BiRtHdAy to Ada, HaPpY BiRtHdAy to you! Enjoy your very special day. We all love you!
Kari Corrigan — 6/8/23
Happy, Happy Birthday sweet girl! We hope you have the best day EVER! Sending you lots of loves and hugs, Always!
Janine Zabel — 6/8/23
Happy birthday, Ada!🎉🎂🎈Have a wonderful celebration!
Aniek Janssen — 6/8/23
Happy birthday Ada!!
Fern Swenson — 6/8/23
Happy Birthday from your Great Grandmother Fern!
Brad Swenson — 6/8/23
A big happy birthday to Ada! Celebrate her!
Shelby Pellerin — 6/8/23
Happy birthday sweet girl!
Stacie and Jim Kuerschner
June 8, 2023
Happy birthday Ada! From your Grandma and Papa's neighbors in Oshkosh!

June 5, 2023

Hi all,

I'm back up in Wisconsin with Oliver, its good to see him and in a big bonus he is also very happy to see me :). I was in St Louis for around 1.5 weeks and for the last few days was down there with Tami, Holly (Tami's sister), and Ellie! Either Tami or I spent the night at the hospital with Ada and the other with Holly and Ellie at the Ronald McDonald apartment. Ada was able to see Ellie 1-2 times a day which was really good for all parties involved! It was also a joy to be around Ellie, I hadn't see her for over a week and she is so much fun and forces us to live in the moment. Huge thank you to Holly for making it happen and also to my mom who is going down to relieve Holly.

Medically speaking things aren't going great. When Ada started this trial her cancer was at 94% of her marrow, 7 days after the NK cell infusion it was down to 88%, 7 days later down to 80% but with that sustained cancer burden she has developed some complications. The biggest is excruciating knee pain (likely from her bone marrow being full of cancer and NK cells exerting an outward pressure). It is enough to wake her from sleep crying inconsolably. Needlessly to say it is heartbreaking to experience being helpless to take the pain away. I would gladly have it transferred to me if I could. Ada is on every class of pain meds that they have which seems to reduce the frequency of the flares but time will tell. She still will pop out of bed occasionally and want to go to the garden to look for gnomes, play in water, chat people up, etc but she is more bed-bound than usual. Given her knee pain, the only slow decrease of cancer burden, and some other complications, we, along with her MDs who are in charge of the trial, elected to start her on some chemo that shouldn't kill NK cells but should hopefully help them get the upper hand against the cancer. It is all experimental so all we can do is hope for the best. We've had this option in our back pocket for awhile but by using it she has to come off the trial which means that she can't get another NK cell infusion...we had been trying to keep her eligible for another infusion but after the 14 day bone marrow biopsy it was clear that she wouldn't be eligible due to high cancer burden. Hopefully we will see an improvement in the coming days, if we don't we might be bringing her back up to Wisconsin. Ada continues to amaze us with her toughness, positivity, and desire to play. She is so social and curious and even through pain is asking the nurses "what does that do?", "why are you doing that?". We love her so much.

As always thanks for everyone's support.
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Ridhi Gupta — 6/8/23
Thinking of you, praying hard and hope you get better really soon. Lots of love!
Barb Mullen — 6/7/23
We are so appreciative for these updates and we continue to pray for all of you.
Debbie McKenzie — 6/6/23
Sending cancer-fighting thoughts to Ada. You are all in our thoughts every day. Hugs to all.
Kathryn Sederberg — 6/6/23
Thanks for the updates! Thinking of you all, always!
Karen swenson — 6/6/23
We don't know why this is happening to our sweet beautiful Ada. We do know we are truly blessed to have each and every one of you in our lives. Thank you for your encouraging comments, prayers, meals, gifts, love and continued support!
Cheryl Clark — 6/6/23
Yes!! Thank you all 💕
Aniek Janssen — 6/6/23
Hoping so very much that the chemo will do its work. Wishing you much strength and love 🍀❤️
David Drummond — 6/5/23
We're all thinking about you and hoping for the best.
Angie Paulson — 6/5/23
You are all always, always on our minds and we are praying hard this chemo knocks out those bad cells and Ada has pain relief. Sending hugs to everyone and a million extra to Ada
Lori Aschenbrenner — 6/5/23
Hugs to Ada and the entire Swenson family. Tami & Joel you are amazing parents! All three of your kids are amazing! Wishing you all the strength and resilience to continue to support each other. Wishing you all peace, serenity and hope for the future.
Kari Corrigan — 6/5/23
🙏🙏🙏 Praying hard and sending endless love and hugs.
Amanda Reed — 6/5/23
Prayers Ada. You are a huge inspiration!
Heather Sheehan — 6/5/23
Thinking of you all, and sending you my love.
katy barber — 6/5/23
Sending love and prayers to all.
Sue Sullivan — 6/5/23
I can’t imagine your pain . Ada is a real fighter. Sending love and prayers
David Swenson — 6/5/23
She's such a sweetheart and inspiration as your whole family is. Still praying!
Eric J. Daza — 6/5/23
Always hoping for the best for y'all! ❤️
Jane Klimenko — 6/5/23
Cancer sucks. Sending hugs and hoping for the best.
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 6/5/23
Every day, we send our love and strength Ada's way. We only know her through Grandpa Tim and through your Caring Bridge posts, but love her nonetheless!
Beth Didreckson — 6/5/23
I don’t know you Ada but I love you. Many many prayers
Kay aiken — 6/5/23
We love her too...and the rest of her family....sending hugs to each of you.
Kari Powell — 6/5/23
Praying always for all of you. Much love. Thank you for taking the time to update us. ♥️
Lance Paulson — 6/5/23
If I could carry some of your burden, I would. Please let us know if we can provide any support/help at home.
Vera Aiken — 6/5/23
We love you Ada! Sending our prayers and thoughts!
Janine Zabel — 6/5/23
Ada is amazing and so is your family. Holding you all in our thoughts and prayers. 🙏❤️🙏
Cheryl Clark — 6/5/23
We all LOVE Ada so much💕 This should not be happening to our sweet girl!

May 27, 2023

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May 27, 2023

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May 26, 2023

Hi all, (Joel here, I accidentally posted under Tami's account)

Its hard to believe that its been a week since my last post. For roughly a week from the date of the NK cell infusion Ada had been feeling very, very crummy. She needed to go on oxygen once and was generally lethargic, cranky, achy, and not feeling well. Thankfully Tami's parents were there for part of that time span to help Ada and Tami and to give Tami a bit of a reprieve. I came down Tuesday to switch with Ada and Tami had succeeded in making Ada feel better. Since I've arrived she has been happy with more energy but still has joint pain and general discomfort occasionally. As I mentioned in my last post, Ada's cancer had been doubling every day prior to the NK cell infusion, the infusion killed off roughly half of the cancer in her peripheral blood (Oliver teared up and was very happy/proud of his donation when Tami told him this) and since then the amount of cancer in her peripheral blood is still holding relatively constant (the cancer growth appears to be roughly equal to cancer destruction). We are hoping that the NK cells "expand" (i.e. multiply) and start to "break through" the cancer but are worried about the cancer "breaking through" the NK cell-mediated destruction. Every morning we wake up and wait for her lab results hoping that they trend in the right direction.

In the meantime we do our best to enjoy the times when she if feeling well enough to play. Ada spends her days doing occupational therapy (i.e. playing games to improve/maintain fine motor coordination/strength), physical therapy (i.e. playing games to improve/maintain gross motor coordination/strength), school (working on her letters, numbers, counting, logic, memory, etc...school is probably her favorite!), playing with child life (i.e. messy things that make Ada happy), going for bike rides in the garden, bringing her babies to the garden, finding gnomes in the garden, racing her racecar around the room, playing doctor on me or her stuffies pillaging medical supplies from unsuspecting nurses, looking out the window at traffic (lots of ambulances and school buses), resting in be watching her tablet or playing games on it, etc. My parents arrived today for a long weekend visit and Ada and I were both very happy to see them!

As always, thanks for everyone's support!

-Joel

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Gene Cecchettini — 6/7/23
You have been in our thoughts and prayers. Love, Gene and Rae
Sue Sullivan — 5/28/23
Can’t imagine how hard this is for all of you. Stay strong sending Love and prayers!
Barb Mullen — 5/28/23
Ada and your family are so inspiring and absolutely incredible. I wish you could market your spirit of hope and positivity. Continued prayers. Thank you so much for these updates.
Sharon Clark — 5/27/23
Sending hugs and prayers 💕
Stacie Kuerschner — 5/27/23
Neighbors of Tim and Cheryl sending many prayers your way! 🙏
-Jim and Stacie (and all of our prayer warriors)
Julie Leuthold — 5/27/23
Thanks for the update Joel.
Heartbreaking to hear how sick Ada was early on. I think of all of you several times a day.
The pictures are precious and its always a heartwarming to see Ada's smile.
Love to all
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Heather Sheehan — 5/27/23
Thinking of you all and sending love ❤️
Janine Zabel — 5/27/23
Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers as you continue to navigate this journey. The love and dedication your entire family has for Ada is a beautiful thing to see as she continues to fight this battle.
Jane Klimenko — 5/27/23
Glad to hear Ada's got some energy back. Btw, does Ada like Bluey? It's a hit around here. Can we send you some Bluey books?
Tami Swenson — 5/31/23
She does like Bluey! If any of the books are hospital themed that would take the cake! :) - Joel
Lance Paulson — 5/26/23
As you live this journey every moment of every day, we all can see you are giving Ada everything you have to fill her days with love and fun. And I believe in her little world, she feels more love from mom, dad, sister and brother and experiences more happiness than maybe most children ever know. You are in our prayers every day.
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Kay aiken — 5/26/23
Thank you for the update. Thinking of you all every single day and continue our prayers for the NK cells to prevail. Love you all.

May 20, 2023

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May 19, 2023 - Update on Ada and Superhero Oliver!

Hi all,
 
Many of you have been reaching out sharing your support for us and our family, we really appreciate. I want most of this post to be about Oliver but a quick (-ish) update on Ada. Honestly the past week has been one of the hardest we've had in the 1+ year since diagnosis and had some scary moments but Ada is stable and back to her usual hospital self right now. Ada received some traditional chemo (specifically FLAG) around 3 weeks ago with the goal to suppress her immune system prior to the NK cell infusion and to knock the cancer down a bit. As Tami mentioned Ada's cancer came back quicker than expected after the FLAG and in fact our MDs met with us on Monday to basically say that her cancer was much more aggressive and with a higher disease burden than they've had on this trial. Simply put her cancer was so aggressive with a high disease burden that they didn't know if she would be ok from Monday to whenever the NK cells kicked in (the infusion was scheduled for Wednesday and typically takes a few days after to see an impact). We all seriously discussed different options including not doing the NK cell collection/infusion but ultimately decided to go ahead with it because we didn't have a better option. Also on Monday Ada spiked a fever due to a bacterial infection in her blood. That plus the very high disease burden made for a few very scary days. Tuesday Oliver did the collection and Ada got a donor lymphocyte infusion. Tami's parents arrived late afternoon on Tuesday as well to help out. Wednesday morning I drove home with Oliver half expecting to get him home to my parents and then to drive back down to St Louis. Wednesday afternoon Ada received the activated NK cells from Oliver. She spiked a bad fever again (104) and was having trouble breathing, she was put on oxygen, had a million things connected to her to monitor her and had a midnight CT scan. I felt terrible that I wasn't there but am very thankful that Tami was there with her. Fortunately Thursday morning her labs showed a significant decrease in cancer burden and Ada started to feel a little better, eventually being taken off of oxygen and able to get out of bed. Today the cancer hasn't progressed but didn't have a large drop from yesterday, apparently it can ebb and flow but we are very anxious for it to continue a downwards trend. It honestly could go either way fairly quickly so we just continue to hope for the best. Ada is very tired and fairly cranky still but it back to having some energy and being playful (Oliver had a school concert today and she was dancing while watching the livestream).
 
Alright, that was a longer medical update than I thought it would be. On to Oliver! While the past 1+ year has been very challenging we have tried to find silver linings and we have definitely spent more time with all the kids than we otherwise would have (largely due to us both not working for significant stretches). So we tried to do a lot of fun things with Oliver in St Louis for many reasons, largely because he is fun to hang out with and its also a good distraction for us! Here is a brief summary of his last week which he really enjoyed but was also emotionally and physically draining on him (he will recover during his triathlon tomorrow ;) ).
 
  • Thursday 5/11/23
    • Oliver and Tami drive down to St Louis
    • They got to touch Abe Lincoln's house
    • Oliver had an appointment to go over what would happen on cell donation day and also to get some more labs drawn. They were really good with him.
    • The four of us (Ellie was splitting time with the grandparents) spent time in Ada's room and at the gardens at the hospital
  • Friday 
     
    • Oliver and Joel explored the (free) Science Center for half a day including a classic planetarium show including Oliver talking for 20 minutes with the person running it at the end. He said that he was available to chat until the next show and no one else took him up on his offer, he was very knowledgable
       
    • Oliver and Joel went to the Magic House which had everything from art to legos to construction sites to interactive science experiments
    •  
      Fun at hospital for the four of us
       
    • Tami and Oliver checked into the local Ronald McDonald House! Oliver was very excited since he has been helping organize a pop top collection for Ronald McDonald House through his school. The woman at the first desk there loved Oliver and they both lit up and chatted sooo much whenever they saw each other
  •  
    Saturday
     
    • Oliver wanted to take Tami to the Magic House so they went back there!
       
    • Oliver had lots of fun at the hospital with Ada and in the sibling play room. Ada doesn't have PT, OT, child life, etc on the weekend so we tried to have Oliver spend more time at the hospital on the weekends
       
  • Sunday
     
    • Oliver and Joel went to the Arch museum. It is an amazing museum and we both spent a lot of time reading about the Arch, St Louis, early America, and interacting with the exhibits
       
    • Oliver and Joel went to the Botanical gardens
       
    • The four of us had fun at the hospital and celebrating how great a mom Tami is (I should write a whole post of this topic every day)
       
    • Oliver and Tami went on a paddle boat ride in the park next to the hospital
       
  • Monday
     
    • Oliver and Tami spent many hours at the aquarium. Oliver loved the turtles!
       
    • Oliver and Tami had a Sushi lunch date
       
    • Tami tortured Oliver by making him to to Ikea, of course she started with the food and made it a short trip so he doesn't understand how evil they are
       
    • The four of us had fun at the hospital
       
  • Tuesday - CELL DONATION DAY!
     
    • Joel took Oliver to the hospital for his 8:30AM appointment. It was a large room with probably 5 nurses at central nurses station and 10-ish chairs for patients needing dialysis, etc...there are curtains but many patients don't use them.  We arrived and while they were getting set-up I suggested that he get his wiggles out prior to being confined to a chair for over 6 hours (those of you who know Oliver know that sitting in one spot for hours at a time is a little out of character for him), he proceeded to start what can only be described as beatboxing and break dancing. The nurses loved this and he ate up the attention. Next they inserted two temporary IVs in him, one in each arm. He doesn't like needles and its a somewhat invasive experience but he did an amazing job. They did the insertion in a little operating-like room with 4 medical staff, a child life specialist and me. The main issue they had was that he giggled and squirmed a lot when they were cleaning the insertion sites with iodine. Overall he did amazing at taking deep breathes to stay calm, listening to the medical staff, and peppering them with 100 questions (I was told by 3 different medical providers that day that they were impressed with the good questions he asked them). Once they got the IVs in they had to draw some labs and wait for blood to arrive (since he is a child they prime the apheresis machine with donated blood which goes into him once the machine turns on). All of this took until around 11:30AM, he occupied himself by talking to the nurses, exploring his environment, reading, eating, etc. Then they hooked him up to the apheresis machine and started to separate out the white blood cells from the rest of his blood, they kept the while blood cells and returned the rest to him (blood goes out one arm, through the machine, back into the other arm). The collection took around 5 hours where Oliver had to hold his arms relatively still. He had more freedom with his left arm than his right arm (which he couldn't really move). He honestly had a blast! He had his own personal TV where he watched 3 movies, he played legos (with mainly 1 hand!), he talked to the nurses, etc. He thought it was fantastic that he was being waited on so attentively ("can you take my shoe off please?", "can you turn on the heat lamp/Florida sun?", "can I have some more food"). To top it off, Ada was quite miserable and one of us had to drive to the hotel to pick up an urgent medical item for Ada so he was alone with the hospital staff for hours and didn't seem to mind us not being there! He was also very proud that he was able to do something that might help his sister but will definitely help scientists develop new medicines. We've repeatedly emphasized to him that he is special because he is brave and willing to help his sister. His blood is special in that he was the bone marrow donor so Ada's body shouldn't reject it, and that whatever happens he did what he could. We really, really don't want him to think that "if I would have done X my cells would have been better" or "my cells weren't good enough", etc. He seems to understand this. Anyway, I really can't emphasis enough how good he did and how proud of him we are. All the travel, lab tests, long day of donation, associated anxiety, etc is a lot to ask an 8 year old to do and he never faltered in his desire to try to help his sister. Many staff pulled us aside to say how he made their day and that he was an absolute pleasure.
    • Oliver was drained (literally and figuratively) but was still excited to go see his sister (Ada had also been asking to see him all day). We all hung out for a bit (Oliver, Ada, Tami, Tim, Cheryl, and me) but it was extremely hard on the kids when I took Oliver back to Ronald McDonald House that night as they just wanted the 4 of us to be together :_( .
       
  • Wednesday
     
    • Joel drove Oliver home so that he could get back to school. We listened to hours of The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, he did a week's worth of math and writing homework (I hope his teachers aren't reading this), he read and watched shows on his tablet.
    • Oliver was very happy to see Ellie (and my parents ;) )

If you read this whole post you really need to find some more hobbies :). I'm just joking, thank you all for your support and please forgive the long and brain dumpy (and not proofread!) nature of this post.

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Emily Campbell — 5/24/23
Thank you for sharing your precious updates and letting us in to your lives. If Oliver is keen to take another break from school, Richard says he could find some farm work for him to do!
Jason Anderson — 5/22/23
What an absolute whirlwind of events and emotions! Thank you for sharing all of that with us, Joel :) All of you as a family are very fortunate to have one another. Hoping that everything goes well!

P.S. -- Proud to have no hobbies so I can read all of these :P
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Barb Mullen — 5/22/23
Dear Joel and Tammy, the postive energy in all your posts are such an inspiration. We don't know your children, but it seems obvious that they carry that same spirit and emotional toughness in the way they approach things. You are truly amazing. I so appreciate these updates. Our continued prayers.
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Ann Parplys — 5/22/23
You are a family of superheros.
Sending love and strength from Germany ❤️‍🩹
Kay aiken — 5/20/23
Thanks for sharing this. I so admire the way you and Tami continue to give 100% + to your kids and the way you are balancing everyone's needs. Continued prayers for Ada and Oliver's NK cells...and all the scientists working everyday to fight cancer.
Shannon Gibbons — 5/20/23
Praying for Ada and your family all the time. Praying for strength as you navigate these difficult days, wisdom to help you and the doctors find the best path, and a miracle cure for Ada. ❤️❤️❤️
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 5/20/23
Thank you for taking time to update with all that your family has going on. We all care very much!
Kari Powell — 5/20/23
You are all heroes! Thinking of all of you constantly. Much love.
Nicole Burm — 5/20/23
Thank you for the update! Love you guys! ❤️
Aniek Janssen — 5/20/23
You’re all so amazing, thinking about you and wishing you much strength ❤️
Janine Zabel — 5/20/23
Wow. That’s a lot for any one person to take in. You are all truly amazing. A family of superhero status, I would say. Praying that those superhero powers and prayers prevail in this battle you are all so valiantly fighting against the villain. May you all be victorious. 🙏❤️🙏
David Drummond — 5/20/23
That's very brave of everyone involved. Glad you all got to celebrate mother's day together - you all deserve an award for how you are finding the silver linings.
Kari Corrigan — 5/19/23
You're all superheroes in my book! Sending endless loves and hugs as always! ❤️
Erika Ulinskaite — 5/19/23
Praying 🙏🏻 for your family strength and Ada’s healing 🫶🏻. Blessings to you all ❤️
Gene Cecchettini — 5/19/23
Joel, what you wrote paints a lovely picture of how each family member is doing their part to support Ada. It's very touching! Rae and I send our love and caring. Gene
Debbie McKenzie — 5/19/23
Sending lots of love to you all! Thanks for keeping us all in the loop. You are in our thoughts each and everyday.
Erin Lavery — 5/19/23
I think of you all so often, almost daily, and send love, comfort, and the hope for moments of joy. So grateful for heroes like Oliver, for fighters like Ada, and for parents like you both.
Lindsey Leick — 5/19/23
This family (and their friends!) are just amazing. Joel and Tami, we can’t tell you how much we appreciate your poignant, funny, informative, just generally awesome posts.

Please be reminded (since we know you already know!) that you have this big, caring community behind you that is willing to do absolutely anything you need. Truly, it is our honor, so please don’t be shy letting us know how to help! And thank you for adding so much to our lives (and even just our day!) with these posts. No matter how things turn out, we are pulling for you every second of every day :-) you are all warriors ❤️❤️
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Becky Aiken — 5/19/23
Sending so many hugs to all! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Linda Swenson — 5/19/23
Joel, you and Tami are the best parents any kid could have!! You two are amazing really!! Your kids are blessed to have you as their parents for sure. I pray for Ada many times a day. She is a fighter and I admire that. Oliver is so brave and such a good brother too. And of course Ellie is just adorable. God be with y’all and help you each day as you juggle Ada’s health needs and family life as well 🙏🏻🥰
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Laura Aiken — 5/19/23
Sending lots of love!!
Lance Paulson — 5/19/23
Your strength and resilience is a powerful demonstration of a family’s love. May God bless all of you.
Sharon Clark — 5/19/23
Wow! What an extensive post. I know you’re tired but thank you for the update. I don’t know how you can manage it all. Thoughts and prayers are with all of you daily💕
Nicholas Torres — 5/19/23
♥️
Anonymous
May 13, 2023
Praying for the outcome we all hope for for Ada!

May 12, 2023

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May 12, 2023

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May 12, 2023

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May 12, 2023

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May 12, 2023

We have been here for about 3 weeks now and Ada has been isolated to her hospital room for 19 days (that's 456 hours of being confined to a small room with a very very active little girl). She continues to test positive for rhinovirus, which is (mostly) fine for her and hasn't resulted in any complications, it just could be dangerous if other kids around the hospital get it. However, after asking/ begging for a way to get her out of here, we finally got approval for Ada to go to the hospital gardens. She is allowed to do this for up to 2 hours/ day and before she goes to it, she is required to bathe and get fresh clothes on, mask up, and sanitize frequently. So it is a process, but so worth it! She has loved getting to run around and play tag, ride her bike and breath in some fresh air!! Despite being cooped up, Ada continues to be in high spirits and loves playing with anyone that is willing to give her their time. She has really gotten into playing with dolls, especially barbies, and she pretends they are sick and she is the doctor. Sadly, she knows all of the appropriate terminology for this kind of play. However, I am not sure what kind of doctor she considers herself to be since she really enjoys frequently injecting water, magic beads, perler beads or really anything small into the mouths of her baby dolls. Then its a fun game to see whether or not the fluid or object comes out the other end... whatever makes her happy. She is also kept busy by physical therapy, occupational therapy, dance therapy, art, school, child life, music and visits from brave volunteers. Again, anyone that is willing to help out with the baby injections, making slime, blowing up water balloons, or creating a mess in any fun way has been a wonderful distraction to her.

Medically, Ada is doing ok. Put simply, this cancer is aggressive and by this point we know that. Ada had 5 days of intense chemotherapy just under 2 weeks ago and at first the cancer disappeared from her peripheral blood which we were relieved to see. But it came back within just a few days and it steadily has been increasing. We know that the cancer is not responsive to chemo and that is why we are here. Apparently this is ok for the next step of treatment which is on Tuesday/ Wednesday of next week. Those are the big days of this clinical trial. On Tuesday Oliver will have his white blood cells collected and that will take anywhere from 4-6 hours!! He will have 2 IVs, one in each arm, and blood will be taken out of one side, will be spun down to remove the white blood cells, and then the red blood cells will go back into him. From this, Ada will receive two treatments. Just after Oliver's collection, she will get his lymphocytes. Then the NK cells will be processed (activated) in the lab and she will receive those on Wednesday. And then we just wait and see what it does to the cancer. Unfortunately there is no way to predict how or if the cancer will respond. They have had some pretty sick kids respond really well to this kind of treatment so all we can do now is hope.

Oliver and I drove down to St. Louis yesterday. He had a quick appointment and now we just need to hang tight until Tuesday. Joel and I are enjoying taking turns spending quality time with Ada and Oliver (and sometimes both at the same time!). We are just missing Ellie, who is back in Wisconsin with grandma and grandpa. In just the past 24 hours, Oliver has spent time at the hospital chasing Ada around the garden and going to the Science Center, planetarium, and the Magic House (I guess its just a crazy children's museum). We finally got a room at the Ronald McDonald House, so we will be "moving in" there tonight and exploring that area which is less than a 10 minute drive from the hospital.

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Julie Leuthold — 5/17/23
Sending love, hugs and prayers to all of you.
Emily Townley — 5/15/23
As always, you are all on my mind. Praying immensely that the treatments are successful this week. Oliver and Ada are so strong and brave! Sending love!
Julie Leuthold — 5/14/23
HaPpY Mother's Day Tami. You are an amazing woman and Mother. Good bless your kiddos and your loving heart
David Swenson — 5/14/23
Hoping and praying that this approach is successful.
Audrey Felker — 5/13/23
Tami and Joel!! We had a nice visit with Ellie today and just want to let you know she is doing fine. She is such a happy little girl and so well behaved. We never once had to say no to her. She loved our cheesy pretzels and I don't know how many times we had to put her backpack on because she was waiting for the school bus to go to school. Do not worry about Ellie!! She is happy with grandma and grandpa Clark. We wish we could be there to help out but we have enough to take care of ourselves. But seeing her today really made our day! We are hoping for good news for Ada this next week. As always our prayers are with all of you. Your mom and dad keep us up with what is going on. Love you guys!!
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Erin Lynn — 5/13/23
Sending BIG hugs to all of you! Mason says “Ada is so brave and so strong”
Amanda Reed — 5/13/23
Praying that we see Oliver’s NK cells kick the cancer’s ass!!!!! You all are so resilient. Such an inspiration for me.
Aniek Janssen — 5/13/23
Wishing for the best outcome this coming week, sending you all the positive vibes and love you need! ❤️🍀
Jane Klimenko — 5/12/23
Best of luck on Tues and Wed 🤞🍀 hoping for the best outcome!
Beth Didreckson — 5/12/23
Praying!
don carlson — 5/12/23
Ada continues to amaze with her strength! Oliver too!
katy barber — 5/12/23
Sending love and prayers. Please let Oliver know Mrs. Katy Barber is so proud of him!
Sue Sullivan — 5/12/23
Sending prayers for all of you. Oliver is a brave little boy he really loves his little sister.
Nicole Burm — 5/12/23
Sending our love! 🙏🙏❤️
Linda Swenson — 5/12/23
Praying for sweet Ada and all of you 🙏🏻. Hoping next weeks treatments go well with a positive outcome and good news to
follow 😘
Kay aiken — 5/12/23
Thank you for the update! Extra prayers for next week. Love you all!
steve and cindy betzler
May 12, 2023

April 28, 2023

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April 28, 2023

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April 28, 2023- St Louis

Ada will start the clinical trial here in St. Louis tomorrow! We arrived here on Saturday with the whole family and got to enjoy a weekend together at the zoo, eating ice cream, and exploring some of the neighborhoods. On Monday morning, we went to the St. Louis Children's Hospital to meet the doctors for the clinical trial and sign some consent forms. So far all of the doctors, nurses and staff here are incredible. Ada took to everyone immediately and loves playing with anyone that will give her just a little bit of attention. Given Ada's recent infections (which have luckily cleared) and her suppressed immune system, she was admitted on Monday and will remain inpatient through the whole trial (about 7+ weeks!). To make matters worse, she tested positive for rhinovirus (common cold) and that means she is isolated (stuck in her hospital room) until she tests negative again!! It makes sense since we are in the bone marrow/ cell therapy hallway and all the kiddos here are immunosuppressed. For those of you that know Ada, you know that this is torture for both her and whoever is stuck in the room with her! Luckily they allow caregivers to leave the room so I have been taking full advantage of that and getting out for lots and lots and lots of runs/ walks. There is a beautiful and HUGE park right next to the hospital with miles of running trails, a zoo, museums, lakes, a science center and more...and the weather has been perfect. So when I am able to get out of here I do and it is a good stress-relief.

I am not sure we posted about the details of the clinical trial, but it involves cell therapy with Oliver as the donor (since he was the bone marrow donor back in September). In short, Oliver will have NK (natural killer) cells collected on May 16 (from his arms), the cells will be processed in a lab to 'activate' them against leukemia and then they will be infused into Ada the following day. It is pretty amazing technology with promising results although its only been done with a handful of kids. The hope is that this knocks down the cancer enough to get her into remission so we can quickly move on to another bone marrow transplant with Joel as the donor. Ada will get more chemo before the NK infusion and that will start tomorrow. She had various tests done throughout the week and we are very happy to find out that everything looks good (no obvious infections besides the cold, heart function is good and her labs are generally ok). Our biggest concern was that her cancer would progress too much before beginning this treatment, but her blasts are holding steady. This puts her in a great position to begin treatment tomorrow. She will get 5 days of chemo in hopes that it reduces the amount of cancer in her bone marrow so there is room for Oliver's NK cells to come in and do its job (about 2.5 weeks after the start of chemo). 

Oliver had his labs done on Tuesday and everything looks great! He is all set to go to be the brave donor. He is once again thrilled to potentially help out his little sister and he is even more thrilled to help advance medicine and be part of a phase 1 clinical trial. I like to think that his scientific curiosity and drive come from Joel and me. He loves to know all of the details about the process- where do his cells come from, how many are there, how do they work in Ada, what tests need to be done, etc, etc, etc.

Oliver, Ellie and Joel headed back to WI after Oliver's tests on Tuesday so Ada and I have been missing them a lot. She asks for everyone constantly and its really hard for her to understand that we are 5+ hours from home AND she is in isolation. The tentative plan is for Joel and I to switch every week or so. It is going to be a long 7 weeks, but we are so grateful that we are here and Ada qualifies for the trial. In the meantime, we are lining up some fall-back options if the trial doesn't work because we are certainly not ready to stop this fight and neither is she.

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David Drummond — 5/2/23
So happy to hear that Ada can start the trial.
Eric J. Daza — 5/1/23
Very happy to hear Ada is moving forward with the clinical trial! Y'all are an absolutely amazing and inspiring caregiving team.
Kari Powell — 4/30/23
All of you are rockstars!!
Barb Mullen — 4/30/23
Such teamwork, Tammy and Joel. Cheering you on! Continued prayers.
Heather Sheehan — 4/29/23
Thinking of you all and sending hugs, especially an earlobe hug for Ada❤️
Aniek Janssen — 4/29/23
Great news that Ada got admitted into the trial 🍀Sending you all the positive thoughts and strength you need. And Oliver is such an amazing brother (and future scientist.. :)) ❤️
Big hugs, Coen & Aniek
Jennifer Marie — 4/28/23
Sending so much love and strength your way!! Tell Ada I miss her! ❤️
Ron Felker — 4/28/23
Praying forAda and thinking about you all daily. You are all so amazing! ❤️
Penny Agar — 4/28/23
Ada so happy to hear you can start this clinical trial, and Oliver for giving his cells to help. Lots of prayers!!
Tanya McDonnell — 4/28/23
Im so glad you got there safely and can start this clinical trial! Hoping for a successful breakthrough!!
Debbie McKenzie — 4/28/23
So very happy to hear that the trial is a go! Sending you all strength and hugs! Here's to success!
Nell Marshall — 4/28/23
Sending lots of love to you all and keeping you in my thoughts!
Cari Felker — 4/28/23
Thank you for sharing and explaining everything so well. You are amazing parents with amazing children. Love you all, lots of hugs!
Gene Cecchettini — 4/28/23
Good news! We send our love and caring to Ada and her wonderful family!!
Lance Paulson — 4/28/23
Encouraging news! We’re praying for great results. Oliver is quite a little man, such a loving brother.
Linda Swenson — 4/28/23
Wow! So glad to hear some positive news🙏🏻. You go Ada!! Beat this ———— cancer👍🏻. Love y’all and praying many times a
Day🥰
Jane Klimenko — 4/28/23
So glad to hear about Ada starting the trial. Fingers crossed and sending good vibes your way.
Luthien Niland — 4/28/23
I'm so glad she was accepted into the trial! I know that's what you were all hoping for, even though it sounds like a very long process. Sending all my love <3
Vera Aiken — 4/28/23
We love you Ada and really admire how you keep fighting! We pray that this promising treatment will be the one!
Cheryl Clark — 4/28/23
Sending love and positive thoughts and lots of Hugs ❣️
Shelby Pellerin — 4/28/23
Praying so hard for sweet spunky Ada! Y'all are so brave and strong!
Kay aiken — 4/28/23
Thank you for the update and continued prayers for this treatment to be the one!! Love you all.
Karen swenson — 4/28/23
You are all so amazing and strong! Sending you both lots of love, strength and hugs!
Alicia Swenson — 4/28/23
Sending love and hugs. You must be so proud of Oliver. What an amazing big brother and future scientist!

April 21, 2023

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April 21, 2023

We are headed down to St Louis Children's hospital this weekend. Ada's cancer is still progressing rapidly so we don't know if she will be able to be enrolled (at some point further treatment does more harm than good) but we want to keep fighting. Ada is so happy and energetic despite everything happening. I know that I sound cliched with all my talk of dancing in the rain but we literally can't keep her in the house regardless of the weather. She has a central line that can't get wet so I pulled the cars out of the garage and she biked in circles with an umbrella. I also snagged a picture of her biking over rocks with storm clouds in the sky, it really epitomizes her battle.

Our dear friends at the Waunakee police and fire departments stopped by and gave our family a ride in a fire truck and police car! We also met the police K9, Ozzie. So many precious giggles from the kids. We don't know how to thank them for their time and memories they have given us all.

We keep meaning to write a long and heartfelt post to the numerous people who hosted a benefit for us at Wando's in downtown Madison but the hard to hear medical news keeps getting in the way. We will get to that post eventually but suffice it to say that we are beyond grateful to Wando, his family, the Inspire community and many others for putting on a fun (Tami and I have been hermits through all this so seeing friends was amazing) and successful fundraiser for our family. It has allowed us to focus on Ada's medical needs and minimizing the impact this has on Oliver and Ellie. We have no words to express our gratitude. We love you all.

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Kari Powell — 4/23/23
Keeping up hope for sweet Ada!! We love y’all.
Ron Felker — 4/22/23
Thoughts and prayers for your whole family, safe travels ❣️
Kayla Sirianni — 4/22/23
We have your family in our thoughts and prayers daily. We have a daughter in Oliver’s grade (Mona). A pay-it-forward message that hopefully brings some positive vibes: I hosted a golf outing to raise money for Make-A-Wish one summer without any beneficiary in mind. I’d like to think that Ada is that beneficiary! Great choice on the playhouse Ada!
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stacey barmore — 4/22/23
We continue to pray for you all. Ada is an incredible fighter!💗
Aniek Janssen — 4/22/23
Amazing to see Ada’s energy and positivity. Hoping for the best outcome in St.Louis 🍀❤️
Neil Swenson — 4/21/23
Safe travels and best of luck. You continue to amaze!
Erika Ulinskaite — 4/21/23
Praying for your family 🙏🏻
Janine Zabel — 4/21/23
Praying Ada is able to enroll in the trial in St. Louis. 🙏❤️🙏 Safe travels!🙏❤️🙏
Cari Felker — 4/21/23
We are holding you all close to our hearts everyday. Safe travels.
Debbie McKenzie — 4/21/23
Safe travels. Keeping you all in our thoughts! Hang in there-- sending hugs.
Denise D — 4/21/23
Safe travels this weekend. Our whole family holds yours in our thoughts and prayers. You are such a beautiful and caring family.
Lance Paulson — 4/21/23
Mom and Dad, you are doing so amazingly well. No one could possibly do better.

April 18, 2023

Bad news, the most recent treatment didn't work. We found out on Friday. We had Oliver's birthday party on Saturday so we tried to focus on him and find joy where we can in our lives but there have also been lots of tears. From the start we've known that Ada's cancer was very aggressive and the chances weren't great. For awhile now we have been in contact with experts throughout the country. The consensus is that we have very few, if any, treatment options remaining due to the aggressive and progressive state of her disease. We are pursuing a few more options: one clinical trial, a pre-commercial (i.e. not well proven) screening platform to ID treatment options, and compassionate use of some highly experimental (pre-clinical) drugs. The clinical trial would be in St Louis and would use Oliver's natural killer cells to attack the leukemia cells...we will know if she qualifies sometime next week. If she doesn't qualify we will try to get compassionate use authorization to treat her at home so that we can optimize her time with family and friends. Hopefully she qualifies for the trial since she remains happy and playful. We continue to thank everyone for their support. Hug (in-person or virtually) your loved ones as often as you can. 

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Emily Campbell — 4/20/23
This news hurts our hearts. We think of you often and hope you can continue to find more joy than tears in the daily routines and rituals of family life as you consider what comes next.
Erin Lavery — 4/20/23
Holding you all in my thoughts daily.
Nicole Marie — 4/20/23
A heartbreaking update. Prayers for wisdom, peace, strength and hope as you face whatever lies ahead. Thank you for the update even though it is probably so difficult to write. -Nicole lyon from oshkosh west
Amanda Reed — 4/20/23
I am so sorry. It hurts my heart for your family to be living this reality. I hope she loves every minute of the time she gets to use the new play set with her family and friends. Holding you all up in prayer.
Karen swenson — 4/19/23
Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for our little sweetheart! It helps more than you know! Thank you!
Sharon Clark — 4/20/23
Karen, my heart is absolutely breaking for you and the entire family. Prayers are needed now more than ever and mine will increase daily. Other than prayer we are powerless and prayers are powerful🙏
Kwan Chow — 4/19/23
Sending virtual hugs and so much love to all of you.
Gene Cecchettini — 4/19/23
Rae and I send our love and caring.
Morgan Swenson — 4/19/23
Thinking of you all and sending hugs 💜
David Drummond — 4/18/23
So sorry to hear this - we're keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.
Ann and Craig Swenson — 4/18/23
Sending virtual hugs. So sorry to hear this news. Wishing hard for some positive news for you soon!
Fern Swenson — 4/18/23
So sorry to hear the news! Hugs to all of you!
Eric J. Daza — 4/18/23
I'm really, really sorry to hear that, Joel. 😔 I hope you all get to spend as much quality time together as possible. I'm sending y'all love and strength to keep up all the amazing things you're doing for and with Ada—and for yourselves as her loyal caregivers. And love and big hugs to Ada!!! 🙏🏽💜
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Jane Klimenko — 4/18/23
Big hugs from California, you're doing all you can and more, keep dancing in the rain with Ada as long as possible and may it be a long long time ❤️❤️❤️
Kari Corrigan — 4/18/23
I am so incredibly sorry to hear this. I'm praying so hard for you guys! Sending endless, loves, hugs, and prayers.
Cathi Epright — 4/18/23
Heartbreaking news 😢. Sending you all much love ❤️ and many, many hugs.
Neil Swenson — 4/18/23
Hugs to all of you.
Ann Parplys — 4/18/23
Sending love and strength ❤️ and hoping for the qualification of the clinical trial
Summer Rector — 4/18/23
We are continuing to pray and sending you all our heartfelt thoughts and well wishes. Thanks for keeping us updated.
Sara Berndt — 4/18/23
Such a heartbreaking update. You have our continued thoughts and prayers. ❤️. You are all amazing.
Jana Montgomery — 4/18/23
So sorry to read this latest update. Sending you all the virtual hugs and still hoping for a positive sign soon. Your ability to focus on family, enjoy all the little good things, and support each other is incredible and shows us what true unconditional love looks like. Best wishes to the whole Swenson clan.
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Aniek Janssen — 4/18/23
Sending you all love, strength and hugs you need… And still hoping for a miracle treatment that will work.. ❤️🍀
Sue Sullivan — 4/18/23
So sorry to hear the latest. You are all in my prayers. Sending love and hugs ❤️
David Swenson — 4/18/23
Don't understand how this can happen to such a lovely child as Ada. Still praying for a miracle. Love you all!
Kari Powell — 4/18/23
Love to you all. Such heartbreaking news.
Brett & Julie Cable — 4/18/23
I’m so sorry to hear this heartbreaking news. I will continue to pray for all of you!
Anya Makarov — 4/18/23
So sorry to hear this... Hoping Ada qualifies and all works out. Sending positive thoughts and hugs your way.
Laura McCorkell — 4/18/23
I’m so sorry to hear this. Continuing to pray for a miracle. Hugs to all of you.
Jason Anderson — 4/18/23
I'm so sorry to hear this, and I really hope that she qualifies for the trial.
Angela Peterson — 4/18/23
Thinking of you all often and so hopeful a door opens to continue fighting. We love all of you. Many hugs to you always.
Janine Zabel — 4/18/23
Sending you love and prayers that Ada qualifies for the clinical trial treatment. 🙏🙏
Lance Paulson — 4/18/23
We continue to pray for Ada and your family. You are not alone. Please let us help in any way you need.
Sapna Thottathil — 4/18/23
We are thinking of you and sending you love. So many hugs.
Laura Aiken — 4/18/23
Sending you all our love and then some 💕
Peter Mullen — 4/18/23
Joel, Tami, Ada, really sorry to hear this. We’re continuing to send our love your way and hope you can optimize time with friends and family this week
Cathy McCorkell — 4/18/23
🤗🙏we continue to lift your precious Ada up in prayer and your entire family. Your all amazing.
Kathryn Sederberg — 4/18/23
Thinking of you, Joel, and Tami and the kids! So sad to read this update, but I am always inspired reading your positivity, and the love you have for one another and for your family just comes through every post. Take care
katy barber — 4/18/23
I am so sorry to hear this. Throughout this journey I have been amazed by attitude and grace. I will continue to keep all of you in my prayers. Hugs to all.
staci hefty — 4/18/23
Know that we at Inspire are sending ALLLLL of the love and hugs your way.
Nicole Burm — 4/18/23
Hugs ❤️
Debbie McKenzie — 4/18/23
Joel and Tami and family-- we are so sorry to hear this. Keeping you in our thoughts and hearts, hoping that one of these new options works. Hugs!
Elisabeth Gibbons — 4/18/23
Joel I’m so sorry to hear this. Reminder that every day is indeed precious. Hoping with all my heart this treatment brings better results. You guys are not alone and send a lot of love.
Luthien Niland — 4/18/23
Oh Joel, Tami, Ada, this is such heartbreaking news, I am so sorry. Continuing to send all of our love and positive thoughts, while hoping you all can have some fun and joyful times together this week. ❤️
Angie Paulson — 4/18/23
We continue to pray for a miracle 🙏
Kay aiken — 4/18/23
Sending you all our love and our virtual hugs. Lots of tears here, too....
Shelby Pellerin — 4/18/23
Ohh my heart is broken for y'all! We are still praying hard and we hope she can get in!

April 11, 2023

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April 9, 2023- April 1st festivities part 1

I finally have a few extra moments to write about the blood drive that was held in Ada's name last Saturday. This was the first event of a very busy/ emotional/ exciting Saturday (April 1st). The blood drive started at 8 am so we were picked up by a squad car, fire truck and ambulance (of course we all piled into the fire truck!) at 7:30 am. At first Ellie refused to sit down and be buckled up but after some force and once the fire truck started moving she was sold! Of course Oliver was in his glory. And Ada just missed out on the event (she was admitted to the hospital the previous night with a fever). On arrival, Oliver was thrilled to see that Be The Match had a booth. He immediately stood next to them and eagerly answered everybody's questions about bone marrow donation. Oliver and Ellie enjoyed running around the fire station for several hours while people continuously flowed in to donate blood. Ellie quickly became obsessed with fire trucks and she must have spent 2+ hours hanging out in the different trucks at the station. And Oliver had a blast running around with balloons, eating the free food and playing with the Paulson boys (last year's blood drive was held in honor of Sam, who fought neuroblastoma). It was so wonderful to see neighbors, nurses, teachers, etc. If you missed out on this opportunity, please donate blood (or platelets!). It is so so important. Ada relies on weekly transfusions to keep her going. We are so grateful to not only donors like you, but also to our incredible community, the Waunakee PD, EMS and fire for all their support!!!

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Nicole Marie — 4/12/23
Hi Tami! We went to highschool together at West (Nicole Lyon). I know we didn't know each other well, but I keep meaning to let you know that I've been following Ada's story, and I think of your family often. You and your husband are doing an amazing job showing up for your children amid what must often be exhausting circumstances, to say the least. So glad to see how much support you have among your family and community, and that you can find glimmers of joy and connection. Wishing you grace and endurance as you press on.
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Ann Arango — 4/12/23
❤️❤️ we are so sorry we weren’t home to see that. We live in such a great community!
Kay aiken — 4/11/23
Such an awesome event! We were happy to donate.

April 5, 2023

I forgot to mention the most important things! Ada is back to her spunky self, full of energy and running around the hospital. She has two viral infections and two bacterial infections that appear to be responding to treatment but we are likely in the hospital for another 10 to 14 days which may or may not run into another round of treatment depending on the bone marrow biopsy.

Sue Sullivan — 4/8/23
Glad to hear she is back to her spunky self. She amazes me. Praying for all of you 🙏🙏🙏
Neil Swenson — 4/5/23
Glad she has the spunk back!

April 5, 2023

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April 5, 2023 - Updates

Hi all,

We have had a busy last couple of days and have a lot of things we want to share however it has been hard to find the time needed to give everything the justice it deserves so I'm just going to start chipping away (for those who work with me I'm taking the "first easiest step" :) ).

Our family is very fortunate in many ways so when Ada was referred to Make-a-wish we were at a bit of a loss. The kids have plenty of toys, we live right next to a beautiful playground, etc. We would love to travel and do a fun experience with the entire family but we don't know when or if that will be in the cards again and wanted something for Ada (plus the rest of the family) to look forward to. Ada doesn't really have things that she is always asking for or super excited. When she isn't talking about family Ada will mostly talk about her friends or teachers and fun things/memories they did together. She also loves imaginary play so after discussing a bunch of options with her and make-a-wish she is going to get this playhouse https://cottagekits.com/product/the-craftsman-playhouse-panelized-kit-with-floor-slide-4/ ! It is actually sitting in pieces in our garage right now, landscapers just finished putting in a gravel/limestone base yesterday. Ada (and Oliver) are very excited about it. It is nice to have a fun thing to look forward to. We will be sure to post pictures once its assembled. Additionally Make-A-Wish put together a video of some of Ada's friends and family sending her well wishes. Ada smiled so big while watching this video! Tami and I didn't solicit all the people we should have so if you are reading this and want to send us a 10 second positive message for Ada please leave us a comment/text us/email us and we will give you details. Make-a-wish said that it is very easy for them to add more videos.

We also want to post about the blood and bone marrow drive that was put on in Ada's name and an amazing benefit that Wando's put together to support our family. So many people continue to support and amaze us, thank you all!

https://youtu.be/5T_-CPuYGZI

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Kari Powell — 4/6/23
What a sweet video! Thanks for sharing.

April 1, 2023

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April 1, 2023 - Ada's back in the hospital

Hi all, Ada had a great first day home, was very playful and full of giggles. Unfortunately yesterday she seemed off and spiked a fever. This can be quite serious since she doesn't really have an immune system so I took her to the Emergency Department at UW Health. They took great care of her, got some strong antibiotics in her (likely her bacterial infection in her blood is back), and got us admitted to the hospital. We got up to our room around 11PM last night. Ada didn't sleep great as having a fever is no fun and she was quite nauseous. Fortunately Grandma and Grandpa are in town so they relieved me at the hospital around 7AM so I could head over to the blood drive. We are glad that we got to have Ada home for ~1.5 days and our glad that we had some fun family time. Hopefully the fever comes under control quickly but we are likely at the hospital for at least another week now. As always, thanks for everyone's love and support.

- Joel

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Jason Anderson — 4/4/23
Glad you were able to have her home, even if it was only for a short period. I hope the fever is under control now!
Michael Fox — 4/2/23
I will continue to pray!
Aniek Janssen — 4/2/23
🍀❤️
Sue Sullivan — 4/1/23
Short home stay but glad for some family fun. Life is like a merr go round , on off on of. Pray it stops soon. A day at a time 🙏🙏
Kathryn Sederberg — 4/1/23
So sorry to hear this, glad she's getting the care and attention she needs now, and that you had some time at home together. Love seeing the joy on your kids' faces!
Katie Shakman — 4/1/23
Very sorry to hear that, I hope her fever breaks soon and she feels better before long. Glad the grandparents are in town, and I hope the blood drive goes great. Thinking of all of you!
Luthien Niland — 4/1/23
Oh nooooo I am so sorry, that is so scary and probably also disappointing with the relief of her getting to be home. Sending all our love ❤️
Janine Zabel — 4/1/23
So sorry to hear that, but glad you recognized it and got her back to the hospital for meds and hope they get things under control soon. ❤️❤️
Janine Zabel — 4/1/23
🙏Keeping Ada and your family in our prayers. 🙏
Shannon Gibbons — 4/1/23
Ada and your family are always in our prayers as well. Hoping the fever comes under control soon.
Shannon (Davis) Gibbons
Lance Paulson — 4/1/23
Sorry to hear Ada spiked a fever but AFCH maintains such tight control, antibiotic was on-board quickly. Thank God for Grandma and Grandpa! Ada and your entire family is always in our prayers.
Cathy McCorkell — 4/1/23
Praying for Ada and entire family. 🙏
Nicholas Torres — 4/1/23
♥️
Kay aiken — 4/1/23
So very sad to read this. Sending hugs to all.
Shelby Pellerin — 4/1/23
Sha lovie! Hoping she gets to feeling better soon and her fever goes down quickly!
A Friend Of A Friend
April 1, 2023
It takes a village. Stay strong Ada & Family!

March 29, 2023

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March 29, 2023 - Ada comes home tomorrow

Hello friends! Ada gets to come home tomorrow!!! Today is day 20 out of 21 of this cycle for Ada. The bacterial infection in her blood has cleared and she has been her spunky fun-loving self for the most part these past few days. She still has bouts of intense stomach pain/nausea and generalized pain (likely from the chemo) but those things are trending in the right direction. Her favorite activities lately include playing fetch with the therapy dog, playing with sand and/or glitter, making slime, playing with shaving cream, visiting with her siblings, etc. We continue to be amazing at her resilience, curiosity, and strong will.

Regarding her future: basically the medicine she was on wiped out large swaths of her healthy and cancer cells in her bone marrow, now we wait to see if the cancer comes back or if she is in remission. It will probably take 1-3 weeks before she will have enough count recovery in her bone marrow for us to do another bone marrow biopsy to know if she is in remission, however we could start to see cancer cells in her peripheral blood much sooner if the cancer is not in remission. After the biopsy we have 3 potential next options that we are considering: 1. If she is in complete remission then we move as quick as possible to another bone marrow transplant with me (likely) as the donor. This would be in Madison and is the outcome we are hoping for. 2. If she only had a partial response to the medications in this round then we might do another round of the same thing. 3. If she didn't have a decent response then we will likely be pursuing a clinical trial, probably in St Louis (for ~3 months!).

We are very excited that she is coming home tomorrow even if the first few days of her home are always a challenge as she and the other kids adjust to all the differences. Ada will still have many medical needs at home but Tami and I are unfortunately becoming quite skilled at fulfilling many of those! Tami and I being away so much has been increasingly hard on Oliver and Ellie so we are planning on making the most of the family time that we will have. Ellie is talking so much and one very cute but heart-breaking phrase of hers is "Visit Ada hospital".

We continue to be amazing by the love and support we have received from family and friends (some we don't even know).  Some of our friends have graciously organized, promoted, and are hosting a benefit for us at Wando's this Saturday (see the attached flyer if you know of someone who might like to go). Tami and I are extremely grateful and also excited to chat with people at the event (one of our first true social events in >10 months) even if Tami and I will have to mask to keep Ada safe so we will have to get creative about drinking a fishbowl! ;)

Other fun things happening soon: Ada's wish through Make-A-Wish was for a playhouse and that was delivered this week. We just need the snow to melt so that they can put in a base to set it on, then 198 simple install steps to put the playhouse together! Saturday morning there is a blood drive in Ada's name in Waunakee. A fire truck, ambulance, and police will pick up the kids (and hopefully me!) and drive them to the blood drive. Thank you to everyone who donates blood!

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Laura C — 3/31/23
Thanks for continuing to share your story ❤️ We’re ready to help with some of those 198 steps to build the playhouse whenever it’s time! Thinking of you guys every day, and hoping for the ideal news soon.
Denise D — 3/31/23
Ada, we are sending prayers to you and your family! We loved meeting you last fall and were so thankful that you helped make sure our Halloween witches were in good shape. We hope we will see you riding your bike around again this summer.
Karen swenson — 3/31/23
She sure LOVED your witches!
Barb Mullen — 3/31/23
Continued prayers for all of you.
Julie Leuthold — 3/30/23
So wonderful you'll all be together again. ❤️
Sharon Clark — 3/30/23
So glad to know she’s home. 💕
Aniek Janssen — 3/30/23
Wonderful news, enjoy your time at home together, sending many hugs ❤️
David Drummond — 3/29/23
Thanks for the update - hoping you all can enjoy the precious moments together as a family at home. I also hope you figure out how to navigate that fishbowl ;)
Penny Agar — 3/29/23
So happy you all will be home together!!
Lots of love and hugs to you all.
Rick and Penny
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 3/29/23
Thank you for the heart-warming update. Looking forward to pictures of the kids in the play house!!!
Karen swenson — 3/29/23
We are anxious for our precious sweetheart to come home!

March 23, 2023

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March 23, 2023

Today is Day 14 of Ada's 21-day treatment. Just one more week of oral chemo (for this round)! This week has been tough. On Sunday, Ada spiked a 103 degree fever which, for oncology patients, can be pretty serious. So they collected blood for cultures and she started on antibiotics. Unfortunately the cultures came back positive for streptomyces which means she has a blood infection. On the bright side, this particular strain is sensitive to the antibiotic she just started so that should take care of it. I was able to come back to the hospital on Tuesday so Joel and I have been able to both spend time with Ada again. She had a fever for a few days, but has been fever-free for the past 24 hours which is a great sign. The other issue Ada has been dealing with is tummy pain. Its unclear if its nausea or true pain. Of course with all the meds she is on, it could be a side effect, but it could also be some other random infection. So for now, Ada and I are stuck in the hospital room (in isolation) while they test her poo for c diff (which I think is very unlikely, but its best to rule it out). We only have to be isolated until we can collect a sample AND get results back (assuming its negative). If she DOES have it, then we will be isolated for a while :(

Ada has had some fun this past week. On several occasions, she was visited by her teacher she had when she was one year old (thanks Ms. Jennifer for playing with Ada!!!). She had so much fun making food for her stuffies and reading about cats. She also has spent some quality time with the hospital pup, Cola. They are a perfect match. They play fetch, keep-away and love teasing each other. She also was visited by Oliver and Ellie who love riding in wagons and pushing each other around the hospital.

Ada's reputation as being spunky, crazy and unpredictable continues. As the MD residents cycle through the hospital, they very quickly learn about her personality. For example, the other day Ada claimed that her chemo duck (a stuffed duck that has a port) had eaten some corn. I thought, "ok... she is just pretending that she fed chemo duck some dinner" and didn't think much of it. But then she kept poking its belly button saying there is corn in there. So the resident did surgery on the poor duck and what did she pull out of his belly button? Two very dry kernels of corn! At least Ada is finding ways to be creative around here!

Update: The c diff test was negative!
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Julie Leuthold — 3/24/23
I see "MD" in Ada's name in 20 yrs.!
Lance Paulson — 3/23/23
I’ll bet that next time Ada tells you one thing or another you’ll tell that little voice of doubt in your head that Ada usually knows what she’s talking about!
Cari Felker — 3/23/23
So glad she was able to spend time with Cola! Hoping and praying all her tests come back with good news. Love you all❤️
Aniek Janssen — 3/23/23
Good luck in isolation, hoping the results will be negative 🍀 Big hugs for you guys! Love, Coen & Aniek
Gene Cecchettini — 3/23/23
We send Love and Caring to Ada and her amazing family.
Shelby Pellerin — 3/23/23
Omg I love it! That girl sure does know how to make things fun! Prayers for good results!
Tami Swenson — 3/23/23
She asked to see Riley today! She doesn't understand how far we are from St Jude or you guys ☹️
Nicholas Torres — 3/23/23
❤️
Lisa Schmitt — 3/23/23
Loved the chemo Duck story!! Best of luck with the isolation and results.

March 18, 2023

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March 18, 2023

Happy almost-spring! Although it certainly doesn't feel like it. I came down with a cold a few days ago and therefore can't be at the hospital. I keep thinking I'll get better and it is just lingering! While I have enjoyed spending some quality time with Oliver (who started spring break yesterday) and Ellie, I am anxious to get better and get back to the hospital to be with Ada and relieve Joel (who has been stuck there since Wednesday). So, if anyone is looking for something to do, is in the Madison area, and is feeling healthy- stop by and visit Ada!

Ada is now on Day 9 of treatment. Part of the treatment plan is an oral chemo (Venetoclax). For this, she has to swallow several pills- many that are huge! It truly is incredible what this girl can do. I thought 'no way she is going to take this'  and she has proved us wrong each and every day! Overall, this round has gone better than expected. She went into it with pretty high blasts (cancer cells) in her blood and she was just not acting herself (quiet and tired). However, within a few days of this treatment her blasts went down and her energy went up! Of course its hard to say if it is working and things could turn pretty quickly, but things are going in the right direction for now. This treatment has pretty much wiped out her bone marrow (again) and she has no neutrophils which makes her susceptible to infections. She is also very reliant on platelet and blood transfusions still. As far as her disease goes, we will know more once she has a bone marrow biopsy (maybe in a couple of weeks?). For now, we will enjoy her energy and happiness!

A couple of fun things that we get to look forward to- Ada's make-a-wish is one thing. She kept asking for a treehouse and well... we don't really have big enough trees for that. So after much back and forth with Make-a-Wish, we finally landed on a really cool playhouse that basically looks like a fancy miniature cabin. It even has a loft. It will be installed within the next week or 2. I am not sure who is more excited- me or Ada! This will sure keep her busy while she is once again in isolation for several months post-transplant.

Also, Oliver is thrilled to be collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. His school is having a competition (teachers v students) to see who can collect the most. This kid is obsessed and incredibly motivated! He even walked around the neighborhood going door to door to collect tabs. So far he has collected about 7 lbs! To top it off, he got to be involved in the school assembly introducing the pop tab competition. He sat in front of his entire school and rattled off some pop tab facts. Did you know that approximately 63,360 pull tabs = 1 mile? He just asked me to remind everyone here to please drop off your pop tabs so the kids team can win!

Finally, we are so grateful to have such incredible friends and family. I truly can't thank you all enough. One such family has offered to host a benefit for us while Joel and I are on leave from work. If you are able, please join us on April 1st (after the blood drive) from 2-6 pm at Wando’s in Madison (I am not certain if Joel or I will be there…it depends on our hospital situation). I've attached the flyer with details to this journal entry. 

Lastly, thank you ALL so much for your continued support!!
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Brad Swenson — 3/19/23
Can’t wait to see photos of Ada in her new cabin. I can only imagine make a wish will make it amazing.
Julie Leuthold — 3/18/23
What a positive update. Tammy, understandable your not getting your energy back as you wish. Momma needs to take care of momma to take care of her cubs. Quail Creek is having a Blood Drive tomorrow. I'm going to go and share Adas brave journey with her pictures and share her story. It will make all of us see first hand how important donations are.
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Angie Paulson — 3/18/23
Such encouraging news that Ada’s blasts have gone down soon after starting this treatment 💗.
The make-a-wish playhouse is such a cool idea!! The kids are going to LOVE it!! So excited for everyone!!!
Our prayers continue for Ada and family 🙏
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Cathy McCorkell — 3/18/23
We continue to pray for Ada and your beautiful family. May the Lord give you strength as you walk through each second, each minute and hour of everyday. 🙏🙏

March 10, 2023

Cheryl Clark — 3/10/23
Nothing gets her down !
Karen swenson — 3/10/23
One goofy girl!

March 10, 2023

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March 10, 2023

Karen swenson — 3/12/23
Goofiness overload!

March 10, 2023

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March 10, 2023

Karen swenson — 3/12/23
Sweet friends

March 10, 2023

As Tami mentioned in a previous post we had been continuing the experimental drug at home. We had some mixed signals last week that the medication might be working but over the course of this week it became clear that it was not and her disease was progressing. Our mantra has been to hope for the best but prepare for the worst so between consultation with MDs across the country, our amazing team here, and our own research we have another treatment plan lined up. Ada is being admitted today to UW Health to start the new treatment plan. We will hopefully know within a week or two if this new treatment is working. If it does we will proceed to a stem cell transplant, if it doesn't we will likely try a clinical trial in St Louis. Going from one treatment to another to try to get her into remission has been tough on her and its hard to see her more tired than usual. That said, she is still spunky and will have bursts (or an afternoon) full of energy. 

We do feel fortunate that we got to have the whole family under one roof for a bit and tried to cram in as much fun as possible. She had a few outdoor playdate and mostly loved playing with Oliver and Ellie. In addition to the Police station and Fire station tours Ada also got a tour of the Waunakee EMS station and got to ride around town in an ambulance. They thought that she would like to ride in front with them but she scampered in back and strapped herself into a stretcher! She really enjoyed it and we are grateful the EMS team took some time out of their day to make her feel special. Last night we also scrambled and put together a little birthday party for Ellie (turns two on 3/16!) so that Ada could help us celebrate (good thing Ada can't read a calendar!). This morning Ada, Tami, and I went out and had a snowball fight and did some sledding in the 6" of snow that we got over the night. Ada got lots of giggles which always warm our hearts.

Everyone's love and support means the world to us as we continue to do everything in our power to give her the best care possible. Thank you.

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Penny Agar — 3/14/23
Your family has made the hard journey for Ada better with the love you constantly share. We send our love and prayers. Rick and Penny
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 3/12/23
Thank you for the update. Love, hugs and positive energy sent your way
Amanda Reed — 3/12/23
You guys are amazing! Sending you prayers and strength. 🧡
Barb Mullen — 3/11/23
Thank you for sharing. It's amazing how you even have the time or energy to journal on Caring Bridge. Prayers and hope for you, Ava and your family every single day.
katy barber — 3/11/23
You all continue to be in my prayers every day.
Janine Zabel — 3/11/23
Sending your family love, prayers of strength and hope that this next course of treatment works. 🙏❤️🙏Sweet little Ada is such a warrior and so are you, Joel & Tami. ⚡️
Aniek Janssen — 3/11/23
❤️ sending you much strength & love, hoping this coming treatment will work 🍀
Gene Cecchettini — 3/10/23
Thinking of ADA and her wonderful family. We send our love and hope.
Lance Paulson — 3/10/23
Tami and Joel, you’re doing so great in filling your children’s days with Love and fun. Your family is in our prayers every day.
Shelby Pellerin — 3/10/23
Ohh sweet Ada! We pray for her and all of you every day! We sure do miss her sweet smile!
Sue Sullivan — 3/10/23
Great that you could have family time together and what is more fun For kids than playing in the snow. My prayers are with your family . 🙏
Kay aiken — 3/10/23
You and Tami have done such an amazing job navigating Ada through this very difficult journey. I continue to pray for a good response to her treatment. Sending our love to you all!
Megan & Jon Goldsher- Brother to mike goldsher
March 9, 2023
Ada, sending prayers for you sweet girl. Isla is so lucky to have you as a friend

March 6, 2023

Timothy Clark — 3/6/23
Mayberry RFD

March 6, 2023

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March 6, 2023

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March 6, 2023

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March 6, 2023

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March 6, 2023

Greetings from... Wisconsin! We are home. Things moved quickly one week ago. I have been reaching out to leukemia experts all over the country and I even joined a "Momcology" group where I am getting tons of useful advice and second opinions. One doctor told us to not stop the experimental drug. So even though we had stopped giving it to Ada a little over a week ago based on her bone marrow results, we started it again last Monday (she luckily only missed 3 doses). According to this doctor (and other families I've met on Momcology) it can take more than one 28-day cycle for the drug to work. So we thought we'd give it a shot. Ada's cell counts have not recovered enough to begin another cycle of the clinical trial (which involves chemo for the first 5 days) so we are just giving her the experimental drug and fortunately that can be done at home! So we got medicine refills, said our goodbyes to all the incredible people that have gotten to know us, quickly packed up all of our junk and hit the road from St. Jude (Memphis) to Wisconsin. We left late afternoon last Monday and drove for about 4 hours to St. Louis. We spent the night there and finished the 6 hour drive the next day. I was absolutely dreading taking Ada on such a long car ride. Its hard enough to keep a 4 year old busy for that long in a car, but her nausea sure wasn't going to help. Shockingly, she handled it really well! She didn't get sick on the first day, but did throw up about 5 times on day 2. She managed to stay busy with her tablet, drawing on the windows, playing with stuffies and destroying everything within arm's reach. It was so good to get back home and all be together again.

The past week has been filled with lots of playing (Ada is back in her element of being a mama to Ellie whether Ellie likes it or not) and still lots of hospital visits. We have probably spent just as much time at the hospital (back at UW) as we have at home. Ada is very transfusion-dependent (needing platelets and red blood cells) and needs to be closely monitored. Our tentative plan for now is to continue on the experimental drug and monitor her blood counts. If it seems her cancer is not progressing, she will have another bone marrow biopsy in a couple of weeks and if, by some miracle, she is cancer-free then she will move on to another transplant. However, if her cancer progresses then we have other treatment options that we are lining up (more chemo and/or other clinical trials). 

This past weekend was busy. On Saturday we had the privilege of visiting the Waunakee police department and fire station. They (along with the EMS) have been so incredible. They are putting together a public safety blood drive (April 1st- sign up here!) and partnering with our family to highlight how important blood donations are. Assuming Ada is not hospitalized, she will get to ride a firetruck or ambulance to the blood drive! So we were all also invited to tour the public safety buildings and the kids had a blast! Of course Oliver and Ada asked a million questions and enjoyed touching all the buttons , climbing in and out of the police cars and firetrucks and running around like it was their own playground.  Afterwards, Ada was given a very special surprise- a care package filled with personalized items for her bike, barbies (including a foldable ambulance that all 3 kids are constantly fighting over), a cheetah, a police build-a-bear, sticky balls and cool EMS gear). I am constantly amazed at how wonderful our community is. THANK YOU Wauankee PD, EMS and fire!

After the tours, Ada spent the afternoon at the hospital getting her nose tubie replaced (its very common nowadays for her to vomit her ng tube out and need it replaced). When this happens, we need to get it back in asap since this is pretty much the only way she will take her medications. Unfortunately on weekends we usually have to go to the ER to get this done and it tends to take a VERY long time. We then spent most of Sunday outside enjoying the "warm" weather and mud. Ada got to have a playdate and have a somewhat normal non-hospital day! Today we are back at the hospital getting yet another platelet transfusion. We are hoping for another uneventful (mostly stay-at-home) week!

 

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Barb Mullen — 3/6/23
Such a journey- stay strong !
Angie Paulson — 3/6/23
Welcome back! We hope to see Ada (and all of you) at the blood drive ❤️. You’re always in our prayers!!
Lance Paulson — 3/6/23
So glad your family can be under 1 roof at least some of the time now. Such a gift! Prayers for treatment success!
Shelby Pellerin — 3/6/23
We are so happy to hear Ada is having so much fun now that she is back at home! We sure did miss y'all!
Mariah Zenz — 3/6/23
We’re all rooting for you Ada!! Always thinking about you guys, so good to hear that she’s still a spunky little girl!

Ways to help The Swenson Family

Hi Family and Friends,
 
In light of recent news that Ada’s most recent treatment hasn’t been working, there has been an overwhelming response from friends, family, and community members asking for ways to help. We are amazed and grateful for the support that they have gotten so far. Currently, you can support them by signing up to bring them food (through Meal Train signup - under ways to help section), keeping them in your thoughts and prayers, setting up playdates for Oliver, etc.
 
I want to give everyone another option to help where they can. I have put together this GoFundMe page for Ada Swenson and her family. This is also a continuation of the fundraising support the family received from their incredible daycare.
 
Ada was diagnosed with acute leukemia on May 5, 2022. Since then she has been in and out of the hospital, receiving several rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. Ada's cancer was in remission for a little while but then relapsed in December. As a result, both Tami and Joel have taken leaves from work to focus on the family including taking Ada to receive experimental treatments outside of Wisconsin.
 
Our current goal is to raise money that will go towards mortgage payments, medical bills, and food for the months when the Swenson family has no income. Any money received in excess of these expenses will be donated to childhood cancer research. We don’t want finances to become a worry and concern as they navigate the road to recovery and raise their three kids.
 
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for your love and concern for our sweet Ada and her family. Every prayer is appreciated and felt deeply. We pray that our sweet Ada recovers as soon as possible!

Gofund me Link is active under "ways to help" within Caring Bridge

Direct link to site:

https://gofund.me/815d4890

-Holly Ertmer (Tami's sister)

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Sharon
February 27, 2023
Praying daily for this sweet child

February 24, 2023

We have started to get results back from the bone marrow biopsy. This treatment either didn't work at all or only a partial response (depending on the test). This is the fourth treatment that hasn't worked so it has been a very tough news to hear. Fortunately Ada remains happy, energetic, and doesn't have any organ damage that we are aware of. We are consulting many experts across the country. We don't know what is next but will likely head back to Wisconsin for the next round of treatments. Tami will arrive here tonight. It will be good to have her here.

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Ann Parplys — 3/2/23
I am so sorry to read this news! Stay positive and fight. Sending love and strength 💪
Erin Lavery — 2/27/23
You are all in our thoughts daily. We are so glad Ada us happy and energetic. You are in our hearts.
Sue Sullivan — 2/27/23
We are praying for you. Anything is possible with God!🙏🙏🙏💕
Sapna Thottathil — 2/27/23
We are thinking of you and your family and sending you love. -- David and Sapna
Jason Anderson — 2/27/23
I'm so sorry to hear this! I really hope there's a different option that works for Ada. Glad to hear that she is still in good spirits, as well as that you've jumped right back into searching. She's extremely fortunate to have all of you as family members!
Eric J. Daza — 2/27/23
echoing Jason 100%
Kathryn Sederberg — 2/26/23
So hard. Thinking of all of you. Glad to hear Ada is in good spirits!
Kari Powell — 2/25/23
I’m so sorry to hear this. Praying for strength and continued energy as you continue on this long journey.
Julie Leuthold — 2/25/23
Heartbreaking to hear.....BUT staying positive from one step to the next is what my prayers are for you. The best blessing is Ada remains a wonderful spirited child. She teaches me alot everyday
Sue Sullivan — 2/25/23
Thanks for the update wish it was better news. Ada is tough and a fighter. Will keep praying for all of you and a turn for the better for that little tiger!🙏🙏🙏
Sara Berndt — 2/25/23
Sorry to hear this. We are thinking of you guys and remain hopeful they can find the right treatment. Ada is undeniably one tough cookie and she has 2 amazing parents. ❤️
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 2/25/23
Thank you for the update though a tough one to write and for us to hear. We will all remain optimistic for this little sweetheart to be healthy again. Love and hugs, Jennifer
Ann Arango — 2/25/23
Damn. But you have access to great doctors and researchers there. Hoping and praying you find the right treatment for Ada. ❤️
Beth Didreckson — 2/25/23
I’m so very sorry. 🙏
Emily Campbell — 2/25/23
This is such difficult news to learn. Sending you all so much love.
Aniek Janssen — 2/25/23
So sorry to hear this news, sending you much love and all the strength you need... ❤️🍀
Aaron Hardin — 2/24/23
I think of Ada every day and how much she must know she is loved. Let me know if you need help finding leads in UCSF/Stanford.
Janine Zabel — 2/24/23
🙏 ❤️🙏So sorry to hear this news. Thinking of you all. ❤️
Angie Paulson — 2/24/23
We are so sorry to hear about the BMB results. We are keeping your beautiful Ada and the entire family in our prayers. 🙏
Kay aiken — 2/24/23
So sad to hear this. Praying for you all. Sending our love. ❤️
Luthien Niland — 2/24/23
What heartbreaking results, I am so sorry. I wish so much I had helpful words, I love you all.
Lana Tidwell Dolan — 2/24/23
Thinking of you guys ❤️
Jennifer Smith — 2/24/23
I wish you had gotten better news this week. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Ada is a special little girl and I feel blessed to have gotten to meet her and be a small part of her life.
Molly Murgatroyd — 2/24/23
Thinking of you guys often and praying for Ada.
Sherri Knight — 2/24/23
Keeping you all in our prayers! ♥️
Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/24/23
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Lance Paulson — 2/24/23
We continue to pray for Ada and all of you. Please let us know if we can help in any way.
Becky Aiken — 2/24/23
Sending you all lots of love! ❤️

February 21, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/21/23
Safety first!😁

February 21, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/21/23
That's our girl, on the Go and full of energy!

February 21, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/21/23
Such a great facility! Thank you St. Jude!

February 21, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/22/23
No running!

February 21, 2023

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February 20, 2023 - A Day in the Life

Warning, this will be a long post, the medical update is in the next paragraph so feel free to just read that....now that I have that warning out of the way I am not going to worry about keeping the rest of the post short, grammatically correct, proofread, etc :).

We are on day 28 of the clinical trial tomorrow. The first 5 days were broad acting chemotherapy plus the study drug. She has remained on the study drug and tomorrow she will have a bone marrow biopsy to see if she is responding to this treatment regiment. However it is unclear when or if we will get a definitive answer from this biopsy as they perform various tests which seem to taken variable time to get results from, also her counts are still quite low so they might need to do another biopsy at a later date to get a better sample.

One of the "best" things about Ada having cancer at the age she does is that she doesn't know enough (and we haven't felt the need to tell her) to be worried about everything. We still her she is getting medicines to help her immune system get better and that we go to the hospital so often because her friends there want to see her and help her. She doesn't consider herself sick. This actually helps us immensely as Ada just wants to play and have fun which forces us be in the moment and present with her. We don't really have a typical day because appointments (eg her primary oncologist, lab draws, dressing changes, OT, PT, school, getting transfusions, etc) and the occasional nausea but I wanted to use this post to give people a view into her life and some of the areas that we find daily joy in.

We are living in essentially a hotel room so I lay as still as possible in the morning (usually reading) until Ada awakes anywhere from 7-8 AM. If she isn't nauseous I can usually get all her morning medicines done within an hour or so (we have found giving her anti-nausea meds time to work and spacing the rest out a bit increases the chances that she will keep them down. During this "down time" Ada usually watches TV, plays with her iPad or makes a complete mess of the toys we have in the room while I scarf down some food (usually I multi-task and help her with a hundred things during this time as well....e.g. I make her stuffies diapers out of paper towel). If its during the weekend she usually doesn't have any appointments so we try to get off-site for 2-4 hours, the most popular destination is the Memphis Zoo but Ada has been to Bass Prop Shop and a few parks as well. [That said this past Sunday, yesterday, I was getting ready to go to a park and noticed symptoms indicating to me that she needed a platelet transfusion which then led to 9 hours in the transfusion center due to complications (thankfully completely resolved) and also needing a blood transfusion].

During the week after Ada's morning meds we always head to the hospital by taking a shuttle (its walkable to the hospital from where we are but there is ongoing construction which kicks up fungus and bacteria that could be very dangerous to Ada so she isn't allowed to be outside on campus). The shuttle drivers are all very friendly and know and love Ada. She hops up on the bus (ignoring my pleas to get her to say good morning) and quickly goes to work buckling 1-2 of her stuffies into their own seats all while stating firmly "not ready". She refuses to let me help her but fortunately the bus drivers are patient and wait her to yell "ready". When we arrive she unbuckles them and says "bye bye" or "toodle-loo" to the bus driver as she carries them off the bus. Next, depending on her energy levels, Ada grabs a wagon and either jumps into it or sets her stuffies into it and pulls it. we might go straight to an appointment but when we aren't in appointments we head to St Jude's new Family Commons. They just opened the Family Commons on Feb 7th and Ada was one of the first patients to take advantage of many of the amenities. I found a new links if you want to read more about it (https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/01/24/st-jude-childrens-research-hospital-unveils-new-family-commons-space/ and https://www.stjude.org/media-resources/news-releases/2023-medicine-science-news/st-jude-unveils-45000-square-foot-family-commons.html). Its on the second floor so I answer Ada's questions or smile appreciatively to whoever is within her questioning range while we wait and ride the elevator.

Once we step off the elevator we have entered Ada's domain and she starts her rounds. All the teachers, staff, security guards, etc know Ada's name and are very sweet to her (and me!). First she heads to the salon to ostensibly say hi but usually gets shy right outside the door to the salon and grabs my hand (which I'm only too happy to hold) and drags me into the room. The ladies all say "hi Ada, how are you today?", Ada doesn't say much at first so I answer for her and do a little chit-chat. Ada notices this weakness and starts playing with something she shouldn't or starts interrupting by asking me, a patron or the staff a "why" question (which I love and encourage!). I believe Ada was their first customer ever!

Next, Ada runs down the hallway to the art studio to say hi to the teacher there (who is great!) and see what they have going on in that room, sometimes we stay there for quite a while coloring, crafting, cutting random pieces of paper, cleaning paint brushes, chatting the with the teacher, etc. This is one of Ada's favorite rooms and I can often leave her there for a minute or 2 to grab a (free and good!) coffee.

Then she either heads to the maker space to see what is going on there or goes to the music room (both rooms are staffed by amazing people).  So far at the maker space we've made a blanket, played with magna-tiles, partook in a little pyrography, watched the 3D printer in action, dragged a ball of yarn across the floor for 30 minutes, etc). In the music room Ada does everything (often in very quick succession) from singing into the microphone, playing the piano, playing the xylophone, playing the drugs, playing the ukulele, etc. However, by far her favorite activity in this room is when there is staff in there (this room is only sporadically staffed at the music therapists spend a lot of their time visiting patients staying in the hospital) she elbows her way into the control room and changes the lighting of the room or instructs me through a microphone to sing specific songs....I don't have a great voice but happily embarrass myself to please my Ada.

Outside of the play room there is a play area with a little slide and some other fun toys. She takes toys from other parts of the area up the slide and rides them down quite frequently. There is also a little deck just outside that room that has sheep that light up, chairs that spin like a top, and movable stepping stones. She enjoys both places and sometimes has little friends to play with there. That is often the spot where she is occupied enough and can't break anything too expensive that I get to chat a bit with other parents.

At some point I drag her off the second floor for a short walk to the cafeteria while I shove some food down my throat while Ada either plays music for me on the juke-box, pushes her stuffies around the cafeteria in wheeled highchairs, or lays and rests.

By early afternoon Ada is sometimes tired and will walk into the "Rest Nook" area. She is often 20 feet in front of me as I gather up our stuff and try to catch up with her so by the time I get there she has requested a room, a pillow, and heated blanket. One of the regular staff in that section is always tickled pink by this a loves Ada. Ada will rest in there for an hour or so each day (rarely sleeping, usually iPad or reading). These rooms are private and really nice with essentially a full size bed/couch and 2 comfy chairs. We spend more time in here and more time on her iPad on days that she isn't feeling well.

My favorite thing about the Family Commons is that there is a "casual care" which have two amazing staff that will watch Ada for up to 2 hours a day. I sometimes can't utilize the full 2 hours due to appointments, etc but this allows me to run back to the hotel room (Tri Delta Place), exercise, shower, organize, clean, fill out paperwork, etc. It is incredible to have a little bit of time to myself. Ada's loves the ladies that run this space and probably pops in to say "hi" to them or show them something she made at least 5 times a day.

Another spot we love is the school that they have there. Ada has school every other day for 90 minutes with one of two other friends. Parents can't leave the floor during school but I can have a little down time to have a coffee or snack, listen to a podcast, read up on leukemia, browse the internet, talk to other parents, etc. The teachers say that she is "a doll", "doing great", "listens really well", etc. Ada definitely loves it there. After class we almost always go to the school library and read a few books and then pick up a few to check-out to read in the rest nooks or bring back to the hotel.

Depending on the day the fun gets interrupted by a variable number of appointments but we head right back up afterwards!

Around 5 or 6 we head to the cafeteria for dinner (Ada still isn't really eating anything and gets almost all her nutrition through her NG tube from me throughout the day and night), then shuttle to the hotel, take a bath, watch a bit of TV while I do her nighttime meds (pretty much the same as the morning), read a few books and off to bed by 8 or 9! I wait until she falls asleep and then finish her nighttime meds, set-up her overnight feeds, organize a bit, decompress, etc. Ada usually wakes up once or twice throughout the night for around an hour wanting to play or ask me questions. I try to get her to go back to sleep as she needs her rest but she is a creative and imaginative little girl. If you read this far you get a fun story: one morning I woke up to her shooting a syringe of cold water into my belly button and then her scrubbing it with a little brush! I'm really not sure how she comes up with these things but I eventually just let it happen since it meant I could lay in bed for a few more minutes! :)

I love Ada so much and am so thankful that she is keeping me busy so that I can (mostly) stay in the moment and enjoy this one-on-one time with her. My heart does hurt missing Tami, Oliver, and Ellie but we are all making the best of the situation and are lucky to have so many supporting all of us. We will continue to try our best to not wait for the storm to pass but to keep dancing in the rain!

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Audrey Felker — 2/24/23
Finally getting myself to read Joel's post. Heard from other family members how emotional it is. You two have to be special people to go through all of this. Hopefully there will be an end to this and everything will be back to normal again. As grandparents there is not much we can physically help with but we hope that all of our prayers and thoughts will get all of us through this!!
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Lance Paulson — 2/23/23
You are being the best Dad Ada could ask for, and I know how much strength that takes. Stay strong and keep the faith.
Ann Parplys — 2/23/23
❤️
David Drummond — 2/22/23
Thanks for sharing a day in the life....such a sweet and endearing way to memorialize this time together. It's admirable how you both stay present and enjoy these precious moments.
Kwan Chow — 2/22/23
I loved reading this post, thank you for sharing. You and Tami are such amazing parents, my heart goes out to Ada and your whole family!
Ron Felker — 2/21/23
Thank you for sharing! The strength and bravery Ada and you have on a daily basis is inspirational! ❤️We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers!
Cari Felker — 2/21/23
Thank you for sharing. We will never completely understand everything your days consist of, but we appreciate the glimpse you have provided. The strength and positivity your whole family has is amazing. Love you all!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/21/23
You are all superheros in my eyes! You're all so strong and brave. Even though you've had a rollercoaster of emotions in your life for almost a year now, you still all find the strength to carry on and to smile. We know it hasn't been easy. Ada, Joel, Tami, Oliver and Ellie you are an inspiration to us all and we love you! ❤️
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katy barber — 2/21/23
Thank you for sharing a glimpse into you and Ada's day. I keep you all in my prayers daily. Your whole family is truly inspirational!!
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 2/21/23
Amazing and beautiful update. Sending love from Tim's friend at Bergstrom GM of Oshkosh
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 2/21/23
💕 Ada is a rock star
Beth Didreckson — 2/21/23
Thank you for sharing all of this. Praying for your precious Ada and for your whole family. May God bless your days there and bring healing to your girl.
Regina McFarland — 2/21/23
You all, especially Ada, are incredible and a true inspiration❤️ Our hearts and prayers are with you daily❤️
Kay aiken — 2/21/23
Thank you so much for sharing this. I can picture the day and love that Ada has so many people there that love her and care for and understand what a special little girl she is. God bless you all. Continued prayers for her body to respond to the treatment. Love you!
Cheryl Clark — 2/21/23
I am so thankful for the care Ada is getting at St Judes 💓 Ada we all love you so much!! You are a strong amazing little girl with strong amazing parents❣❣❣
Ertmer Holly — 2/21/23
❤️
Nicole Burm — 2/21/23
❤️ love this! Thank you 🙏
Aniek Janssen — 2/21/23
❤️
Nicholas Torres — 2/21/23
♥️
Kari Powell — 2/21/23
Thanks for sharing in so much detail what a day is like with Ada. It’s heartwarming to read about her spunkiness, occasional shyness, and all of her marvelous creativity. We love y’all!!
Sharon Clark — 2/21/23
Thank you, Joel, for the wonderful, encouraging and descriptive update. It is amazing that you found time to publish this for us. But then a lot of things that you and Tami do are amazing. I continue to pray for Ada, for your entire family and for the caregivers at Saint Jude‘s.
Much love, Sharon.
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February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/22/23
Beautiful!

February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/22/23
Sisterly love!🥰

February 16, 2023 - More pictures!

Just posting 5 more pictures as promised in the other February 16 post!

Michael Fox — 2/19/23
Wonderful pictures!! so good to see!
Audrey Felker — 2/19/23
Those are such precious pictures. I get very sad when I see those little ones. But we were very happy to spend some time with them yesterday. Those two were so friendly to us. Haven't seen Oliver for some time and he was surprised to see that I had a walker to get around. Miss all of you so much!!
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Ron Felker — 2/17/23
Great to see everyone together ☺️
Julie Leuthold — 2/17/23
What see pictures. Nice to see you all together ❤️
Aniek Janssen — 2/17/23
Very cute ❤️
Stephanie Valkovic — 2/16/23
So nice to see you all together - glad your folks were able to come down too!

February 17, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 2/22/23

February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

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February 17, 2023

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February 16, 2023

Its hard to imagine that in 2 days we will have been here for a month! Tami was at St Jude with Ada for a bit and then I flew down with my parents, Oliver, and Ellie. They all stayed for 4 days and then Tami returned with them and I stayed at St Jude with Ada. It was amazing to have everyone together again even if all the excitement the kids had coupled with all the restrictions on activities meant that a few deep breathes had to be taken during the trip :). Tami and I stayed with Ada in one room at Tri Delta and my parents stayed with Oliver in Ellie at a nearby hotel. We can't imagine doing that trip without the grandparents help, so thanks mom and dad!!! Despite Ada battling nausea and not sleeping great we had a great time and built some great memories. Highlights include Oliver trying to give Ada a hug (a rare occurrence) at the airport but Ada just asking me repeatedly for goldfish (I didn't get a hug either!) and ignoring him (she was probably tired and overwhelmed but it was funny in retrospect), Ada taking everyone on a tour of all the cool things at the hospital and wanting to hold Ellie's hand 24/7, going to the observation deck at the top of the pyramid (32 stories!) at the bass pro shop (St Jude families are free!), doing a long hike (bike ride for Ada) at Mud Island River Park which has a a scale replica of the Mississippi which you can walk along, exploring the Memphis zoo (again, St Jude families are free!). I'm too lazy right now to narrow it down to only 5 pictures (a caring bridge limitation) so I'm going to post 5 here and then make another post to post 5 more! I'll try to post again soon on what a day in the life looks like for Ada and me. Thanks again for everyone's support!
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Kathryn Sederberg — 2/19/23
Glad you had some family time all together!
Nicole Burm — 2/17/23
❤️ thanks for the update! Always in our prayers! ❤️
Maggie Goldbach — 2/16/23
YAYY family time!! Miss you sweet Ada. So glad you are taking in all the sights and adventures.
Stephanie Valkovic — 2/16/23
Such sweet sisters!
Jana Montgomery — 2/16/23
love the updates! need to see this Bass Pro Shop... :)
Angie Paulson — 2/16/23
Oh my goodness, those pictures are too precious! So happy you all had that family time 💕
Kay aiken — 2/16/23
Thank you for the update. Those pictures of Ada and Ellie are so sweet. Thinking of you and praying for Ada. Xo

February 7, 2023

Howdy! Just a really quick note that things have been taking a very long time to reach Ada when shipped to the previously mentioned address. We were told to that using the below address would be quicker. Either address should work, but please use the below for now. Thanks!

 

Attn: Adalyn Swenson

350 North Third Street

Memphish, TN 38105

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February 4, 2023

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February 4, 2023

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February 4, 2023

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February 4, 2023

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February 4, 2023

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February 4, 2023

Well, one good thing about all of this is that it is MUCH warmer here than home! However, we got blasted with some ice this week that left our car buried in a thick layer of ice and the roads completely undrivable. Fortunately it lasted only a few days and things are starting to thaw out. Despite all of the ice, Joel somehow made it out (via airplane) on Wednesday and is now home with the other two kids for about one week. On Thursday, Joel, Ellie, Oliver, and Joel's parents are going to fly down to Memphis to hang out with us at St. Jude for about 5 days. We are looking forward to the company! Ada and I are squeezing in some quality time staying at Tri Delta and going to her very LONG doctor appointments. For example, Thursday we were at the hospital from 7 am until about 5 pm for labs, a transplant consult (to see how their bone marrow transplant process compares to Madison), a social work meeting, to get her dressing changed, meet with the doctor, and to get a blood transfusion. Phew! To say this is exhausting is an understatement. At least we've been sleeping well at night. St. Jude is truly incredible though. They really ensure that families don't pay for ANYTHING. That includes travel (for us and our family), food, housing, and of course medical care.

I thought we were going to get a hospital break yesterday, but we ended up back there for a platelet transfusion. At least it was fairly quick and we were there for just a couple of hours. We did finally get to spend some time out of the hospital. If you've ever been to Memphis you probably have seen this huge glass pyramid looming in the distance on the Mississippi. I thought it was some historic site or a museum. Turns out it is a ginormous Bass Pro Shop! So Ada and I had to check it out. We went yesterday morning and easily spent 2-3 hours there. I think she was most excited about sitting on the four wheelers and wishing she could have one. But more interestingly (to me), they have tons of fish, alligators, a bowling alley, an elevator that takes you to the top where you can get a great view of Memphis, and much much more. When the employees found out that Ada is a St. Jude kid, they treated her like royalty. They gave her free fudge, we got to go on the elevator to the top, and they let her go fishing at one of the indoor ponds. She caught 6 trout and had a blast!! She really enjoyed forcing me to touch the fish. She then got a hat and blanket. Needless to say, we will be coming back here especially when Oliver and Ellie come here in a few days!

What else have we been up to while stuck in a small hotel room? Did I mention that we can't go outside because we are surrounded by construction (which could lead to a lung infection for her)? So inside...lots of running back and forth like crazy people, throwing sticky balls at the walls and ceiling, washing the sticky balls with all of the mini soaps, going back to the hospital to play in all of the fun play areas, and exploring the common areas at Tri Delta (small play area, air hockey, video games). 

Medically, Ada continues to do well (as far as we can tell). There were a few rough days were she had some intense eye irritation (caused by the high dose cytarabine that she got during the first five days). She was unable to open her eyes completely and couldn't see well. Luckily it passed as quickly as it came on and she seems back to "normal" now. She also had a few bouts of nausea, but overall seems to be feeling pretty good. My goal each day is just to keep her busy and happy!

-Tami

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Amanda Reed — 2/8/23
Tami-you and Joel are doing an incredible job loving Ada up. I’m so happy that you get to have Oliver and Ellie visit soon. Prayers. 🧡
Sharon Clark — 2/6/23
I so enjoy reading your updates that have such positive news...especially your comments about Ada having a fun time. She deserves those fun times, as do you. I know I’m not alone when I say that I wish there was something I could do to help. I’d there is anything, even a small thing, please let me know. In the meantime I will just continue to think of your family and pray that the medical teams find exactly what is needed for Ada.
Hugs, Sharon
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Ron Felker — 2/4/23
You go Ada!! When you are up to it you give me a call and share some of those fishing tips!! I will have a open seat ready for you in the boat this summer.. ❣️
Nicholas Torres — 2/4/23
❤️
Lance Paulson — 2/4/23
All these wonderful memories hopefully some day push out the hard ones. Mom, Dad, Oliver and Ellie and your entire family are doing so great. We’re so glad Ada is receiving such incredible care!
Luthien Niland — 2/4/23
I had no idea a Bass Pro Shop could be like that! Sounds very fun. You are amazing, I can’t believe you have the energy to even write this - thanks for the update, thinking of you all so much. ❤️
Cari Felker — 2/4/23
Everyone is attracted to her sunshine, strong personality and want to be part of it. It warms my heart to see and hear that there is people showing such kindness. We have you all in our hearts and minds everyday.
Sara Berndt — 2/4/23
What a great experience at the Bass Pro Shop! happy to hear St. Jude’s is taking such good care of you all!
Gene Cecchettini — 2/4/23
Dear Swensons, we send our love to Ada and your family and supporters. You're an amazing team!
Gene & Rae

January 27, 2023

Cheryl Clark — 2/4/23
Happy girl!! A bag of chips and a bike..love it😍
Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/28/23
Happy girl with her new bike!

January 27, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/27/23
What good puppies!

January 27, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/27/23
Looks like she's got a new best friend ❤️

January 27, 2023

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January 27, 2023

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January 27, 2023

Ada is already on Day 4 of treatment! That means just 1 more day of iv chemo (and at least 24 more days of the experimental drug). That also means that we are being discharged tomorrow after her last iv chemo. It turns out that St. Jude likes to keep kids outpatient as much as possible to maintain some 'normalcy'...well at least as much as possible given the situation. So we will first be housed at the Tri Delta house which is a 5 minute walk from the hospital. It is basically hotel-style housing. And then we will eventually move to the Ronald McDonald House which is off campus, but is a short shuttle ride away. It seems more appealing because they have their own cafeteria and a place to cook! While we would LOVE to go back home to Wisconsin once we are discharged, we have to stick close by since Ada's cell counts will drop due to the chemo and she is going to be constantly monitored for side effects, etc.

So far Ada has handled the treatment as well as can be expected. What has helped her immensely is her bike! We were shocked to find out that St. Jude did not have a tricycle so before I headed down, I frantically searched for a suitable bike. Somehow I managed to find nearly the same tricycle that she had at the UW hospital on facebook marketplace! It was new, it was cheap, and the guy gave me 2 for the price of 1!!! So I loaded the 70 lb bike up and drove her down to Memphis (thanks to my dad, the drive down was pretty easy and only took ~9 hours). Ada did a happy dance when we arrived. I like to think it was because I just got there, but it was probably more likely because she saw the bike. She immediately hopped on and rode around to show off her new bike (bedazzled with lights!). 

We've continued to spend our time here biking around (and we've learned to attach a leash to the bike to slow Ada down), exploring all areas of the hospital, meeting the adorable volunteer pups, hanging out in the amazing & delicious cafeteria, admiring the artwork on the walls, and meeting all the staff (we even met physician's assistant Hailey who is a cancer survivor AND astronaut!). Our plans are to be here for at least another 4 weeks. After the 28 days of treatment Ada will have a bone marrow biopsy to see if she has any remaining cancer. If not, then we are moving onto a bone marrow transplant (very likely back in Madison). If there still is cancer... we will have to see if its worth doing more cycles of this treatment or switching to yet another treatment regimen. What has been encouraging so far is blasts have not been seen in her peripheral blood the last two days. While that doesn't necessarily mean the cancer is gone, it is going in the right direction!

~Tami (I accidentally used Joel's account)

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Katie Shakman — 2/1/23
So glad to hear Ada has energy for cycling around lately, that seems like a very good sign (crossing my fingers for good test results to go along with it)!
Tanya McDonnell — 1/29/23
So glad it’s going as well as it could so far and you can go offsite for more comfort. Seems like a great center! Just awesome you found a tricycle for her! Praying for more positive results from this treatment!! 🙏🙏
Sharon Clark — 1/28/23
So glad she is there and being so well cared for. Also glad that you have so much family suppler. Your dad looks great by the way.
Audrey Felker — 1/28/23
Enjoying these post so much! Also love the pictures because it makes us feel closer to Ada. Keep up the good work that you and Joel are doing and there will be better days ahead. Tell Ada that great -grandma has a set of wheels also to get around but mine does not have lights on it. Love you guys!!
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Sue Sullivan — 1/28/23
Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers🙏🙏🙏 we can all learn from Ada she is a trooper!
Julie Leuthold — 1/27/23
Ada is my Hero! With all this biking....no doubt she is training for the Olympics! And Cora and Alaina will be there to cheer her on.
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 1/27/23
Ronald McDonald Houses (RMH) are awesome!! I’m an ADPi and that is the charity my sorority supports nationally!! I used to go up to the RMH in Indy to prepare a meal for families several times a year (we sent ladies monthly). So glad you found her a bike - so adorable!
Luthien Niland — 1/27/23
You sound happy and energized in this entry - even if that’s not always the case, I hope you’re feeling some of it ❤️

January 22, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/22/23
How fun!

January 22, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/22/23
Looks awesome!

January 22, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/22/23
Awww...a new friend!

January 22, 2023

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January 22, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/28/23
Wow!

January 22, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/22/23
Goofy Ada and daddy!

January 22, 2023 - Hello from St. Jude

Hello from St. Jude! Ada and I have gotten our bearings for the most part (we have a decent understanding of the new team, new rules, new procedures, etc). She is doing well right now. She still has blasts circulating in her peripheral blood and will continue to need blood and platelets transfusions but she is still full of energy, questions, and spunk! Right now she is potty training her cow stuffed animal ("cow-y") and making a bed for him out of washcloths. Her having this much energy while attached to an IV is challenging since she tries to just yank the IV pole around by the tubes...it won't be fun when one of those tubes yanks out for her or the IV pump! That said, I'm very happy to play with energetic, spunky, and confined Ada as this is much better than when she is in pain. She "passed" all her tests and is officially in the clinical trial now which starts on Tuesday. It will entail 5 days of broad acting well-established chemo (which she is gotten before and has a decent safety profile), twice daily experimental drug (which is very specific and has a really good safety profile so far) for at least 28 days, many other prophylactic medicines to keep her infection free, etc. Again, the goal is to get her back into remission for another bone marrow transplant (likely either at St Jude or in Wisconsin). Everyone and everything is great at St Jude but we miss the wonderful facilities and staff at UW Health as well! Ada and I have met with doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, patient care assistants (PCAs), nutritionists, physical therapists, child life, a therapy dog, etc. Ada and I have taken in a lot of information, new rules, new schedules, etc + we've asked a few questions and advocated for Ada ;). (so that is my excuse for taking so long to update folks! :) ).

 

So far some of the fun things we've done include: play in the playroom on our floor, push a touchscreen on the wall to learn about sea animals (our floor is ocean themed, others are space and jungle themed), use the imagine room, play on the musical stairs (each stair has a light gate that when interrupted plays a musical note), pull cow-y around in the wage, pull her iPad blaring dance music to the nurses station, bark at people pretending to be a dog (Ada gets so embarrassed when I do this), etc.

Tami is driving down with her dad tomorrow! I'm looking forward to seeing them!

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David Drummond — 1/25/23
Sounds like a fun atmosphere to make the most of a tough situation - keep on barking! We're all thinking of you.
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you! Today she was a cat and a sheep!
Rachel Carlson — 1/24/23
It sounds like things at St. Jude are off to a great start! Sending LOVE. xx
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you!
Kari Corrigan — 1/24/23
Sending endless prayers, as always. I was wondering if it was allowed to send her a little care package. I'd love to make her a "busy box" to help with those days that she needs some stimulation but doesn't quite have the energy to be out of bed. If this is something that is acceptable/allowed, please feel free to email me at:

karicorrigan.inspired@gmail.com

Im sure you guys have all hands on deck with your other two kiddos at home but if there's anything I can do to help with them, or tasks here in Waunakee, please holler. My schedule is incredibly flexible and I'm always around.
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Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you! She loves getting mail, her address is:

St Jude Children's Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105
Attn: Adalyn Swenson
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Vera Aiken — 1/22/23
Good to hear she is keeping the energy! We sure will keep the faith and the prayers for her. We love you Ada!
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you!
Sue Sullivan — 1/22/23
It must be very difficult, but you are all doing an amazing job. Stay positive you are all loved and prayed for🙏🙏🙏
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you!
Karen swenson — 1/22/23
Sweetheart, we miss and love you and daddy so much! St. Jude Hospital looks awesome and we are praying for a cure for you. Keep smiling🥰
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Will do Mayme! :) Keep tickling Ellie for me
Lance Paulson — 1/22/23
Great job Ada and Dad! We’re praying for success!
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
thank you!
Cheryl Clark — 1/22/23
Love and miss you so much sweet Ada, I'm glad to see they have a dog for you to play with ❣❣❣❤❤
Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
She has played with two dogs now!
Ann Arango — 1/22/23
Thanks for the update. We miss seeing you both in the neighborhood! Oliver helped Bob shovel our driveway today! He wanted to let us know he’s collecting pop top tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. He’s such an awesome kid! St Jude’s looks amazing. We’ll be thinking of you all next week…
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Joel Swenson — 1/25/23
Thank you! Also, Oliver loves shoveling...hopefully it didn't create more work! lol

January 20, 2023

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January 20, 2023

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January 20, 2023

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January 19, 2023

A few people have asked for Ada's new mailing address. So here it is:

St Jude Children's Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105
Attn: Adalyn Swenson

She is settling in and making herself known. As far as I'm aware she has spent quite a bit of time in the playroom and keeping the nurses on their toes! I'm still in Wisconsin and plan to make the drive down (with my dad) on Monday so that I can be there when Ada begins treatment on Tuesday. It's been hard being so far from Ada and Joel but it's also really hard knowing that I'll be leaving the other 2 kiddos in just a few days. For now I'm going to enjoy my time with them by playing in the fresh snow, going to a school event tomorrow and then a badger hockey game on Saturday. Thanks again for everyone's kind words and support!

St Jude Children's Hospital
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105
Attn: Adalyn Swenson
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Audrey Felker — 1/21/23
As always Tami our thoughts are with you and Joel!! Carl just got my Caring Bridge up and running again. Thank God for all of our kids. They are all so good with this modern technology!
Sharon Clark — 1/20/23
❤️
Sue Sullivan — 1/20/23
Sending love and prayers to all🙏🙏🙏
Gene Cecchettini — 1/20/23
Reading the journal entries regularly and thinking of you often.
Love, Gene and Rae
Nicholas Torres — 1/20/23
❤️
Nicole Burm — 1/20/23
Hugs and love! Enjoy this weekend and safe travels!
Aniek Janssen — 1/20/23
Big hugs, thinking of you ❤️🍀
Julie Leuthold — 1/19/23
As always, Ada adjusts to her new "pad".
Hard to be so far away from them. But it sounds like you had a lot of snow to play in! Safe travels for you and your Dad.
Hugs to all of you.
Kay aiken — 1/19/23
Enjoy your weekend. Praying that Ada responds well to the trial and that the 5 of you can all be together again soon!

January 18, 2023

Ada and I had an uneventful trip down and are all settled in! Ada already spent an hour in the playroom and bossed all the nurses around. Everyone and everything seems great so far. That's all from me tonight as the trip tried me out!

Julie Leuthold — 1/21/23
Oh my goodness and she just keeps smiling.
Sue Sullivan — 1/20/23
Sending prayers for strength and hope🙏🙏🙏
David Swenson — 1/19/23
Praying for a miracle at St. Jude Hospital!
Penny Agar — 1/19/23
Nice pictures looks like a nice ride there. Keep those nurses and doctors in line.
Prayers Rick and Penny
Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/19/23
💕Keep smiling and fighting sweetheart 😘
Angie Paulson — 1/19/23
I love seeing those smiles, Ada!!! So glad to see you made it safely 💗
Cheryl Clark — 1/19/23
Our brave sweet Ada ❣❣❣
Monica Dull — 1/19/23
Ada is such a brave traveler & traveling in style! Glad you are settled in. Thoughts and prayers are coming to you all.
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 1/19/23
Ada you're such a brave little girl. Sending you a huge hug. Love & hugs to you all. Know I'm thinking & praying for everyone.
Luthien Niland — 1/18/23
Gosh what a brave kid! ❤️

January 18, 2023

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January 17, 2023

Just a quick update tonight: Ada has remained outpatient (meaning we give her all her meds, do basic care for her PICC line, etc) until today. She has been going to he hospital very frequently over the past week to monitor her hemoglobin, platelets, neutrophils, etc and getting transfusions when necessary....we've been there a lot. We have treasured the days where our whole family is under one roof. Today she went in and the blasts (baby blood cells, likely cancer cells) in her peripheral blood went up quite a bit. She was unexpectedly admitted today to start a new chemo and monitor her for tumor lysis syndrome. She thankfully remains cognitively and physically spunky. Tami is spending the night with Ada and I took Oliver and Ellie to say goodbye to Ada before her big trip to St Jude (which we have been playing up quite a bit!). We don't know how long she will be there but likely at least a month.  Ada and I will be flying down on an air ambulance to Memphis tomorrow where she will start the clinical trial on Tuesday. Tami will drive down with her dad sometime before then. Either Tami or me will always be down there with Ada and depending on her health, etc both of us may be down there. This is an emotional time for our family as (1) phase I clinical trials are not a place we want to be; (2) having the family in two locations across the country also sucks. We still remain hopeful that we are getting Ada the best treatment possible and remain extremely grateful to family and friends that are supporting our whole family in various ways. Thank you everyone.

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Anya Makarov — 1/19/23
You all are incredibly strong! One day at a time, you will get through this difficult journey. Sending well wishes your way and praying for Ada's recovery.
Sharon Clark — 1/18/23
Again, thinking of you and praying for good news❤️
Erin Lavery — 1/18/23
I think of you all daily. I hope travel goes well and I'll send comfort, hope, and love to you often.
Julie Leuthold — 1/18/23
Thank you for your updates. We think of all of you often. St Judes is full of miracles!
Angie Paulson — 1/18/23
Safe travels. Prayers and hugs to Ada and family every step of the way.
Kay aiken — 1/18/23
So sad that this is happening but St. Judes looks like a good place to be. Sending our love and prayers during this difficult time.
Lisa Schmitt — 1/18/23
Ada and your whole family remain in my prayers.
Brad Swenson — 1/18/23
Continued prayers as your family starts this next journey.
Lance Paulson — 1/18/23
We believe the Lord is with Ada, Oliver, Ellie and both of you. Let us know if we can help in any way.
Luthien Niland — 1/17/23
I love the family photo! You are so good at getting all the smiles from these kids. Love you all, gosh this all really does suck. ❤️❤️❤️
Marje & John Luetkemeyer
January 17, 2023
Jean Houghton
January 13, 2023
My friend, Barb Mullen, shared Ada's site with me, as our granddaughter Harlow was also diagnosed with leukemia, at 6 months (ALL-T Cell). She had a bone marrow transplant, and she has been cancer-free (she just turned 4). I pray the same Ada.

January 12, 2023

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January 12, 2023

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January 12, 2023

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January 12, 2023

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January 12, 2023

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January 12, 2023

Ada came home last night after a rough afternoon at the hospital. Its amazing to have everyone under one roof again even if it will only be for a few days. We don't have specifics yet but Ada will be transferred to St Jude's in the next few days or maybe next week.

As Tami mentioned last time it was unclear if the chemo Ada was getting this round was working. We still don't have a perfect answer but there are strong indications that it is not working as well as we would like. She still has blasts (baby white blood cells which are normally cancerous) in her peripheral/circulating blood and she isn't making blood cells quicker than her body is using/destroying them which means that she is very transfusion dependent and also highly susceptible to infections (which can be very serious). Given this plus other information, the medical team at AFCH UW Children's Hospital provided a list of ~20 clinical trials that Ada would likely qualify for and could potentially benefit from. Tami and I reviewed the trials, consulted with the amazing team at UW, got some second opinions, and ultimately came to the consensus to enroll Ada in a phase I clinical trial at St Jude's in Memphis . This is a very attractive therapy since it is very targeted with (so far) very few adverse affects. Ada is still close (temporally) to her bone marrow transplant which is a harsh experience with lots of toxicity and thus a specific, less toxic approach is very attractive. We think that this gives us the best chance of getting Ada into remission so that she can have another bone marrow transplant which we are still hoping could lead to a cure.

This was a very difficult and emotional decision for us to make for many reasons including:

1. The entire staff at AFCH UW children's hospital has been amazing and made Ada's stay there something that she looks forward to (we recently asked her if we could get in a car and go anywhere where would she go, she said "the hospital"). They also tolerated and made us feel like partners in Ada's care and treatment decisions. I can imagine it being frustrating dealing with parents that have advance degrees in molecular biology/toxicology, work at companies in the clinical trial space, etc but they were always very willing to humor us. We cannot begin to imagine how to thank all the doctors, nurses, nurse assistants, PTs, OTs, child life, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, nutritionists, etc (sorry if you are an etc and reading this!) and we will miss them dearly.

2. St. Jude's looks like an amazing place but it is very far away. This is going to put even more of a strain on our family (especially our almost 2 year old and our 7 year old) as Tami and I will likely be in Memphis a good bit (one of us will always be there). Ellie and Oliver could come down there with us but we don't know how long we will be there, don't know how intense things will be with Ada, don't know what the kids would do, etc. For the meantime we want to keep Oliver in school with as much routine as possible. So grandparents will likely be stepping in big time again to help with Oliver and Ellie. We don't know how to ever thank them either for all their help and sacrifices. We love all our kids so much and while its obviously most heartbreaking to think about what Ada has gone through (on the flip side, she has gotten to do some pretty special things as well) it has also been extremely hard on the other kids. They have handled it amazingly well but this will be a new challenge. Thanks to the entire village of people who care for and about Oliver and Ellie. We appreciate all the things people have done to make them feel special and supported. One benefit of Ada going to Memphis is that Oliver and Ellie should be able to have more playdates and do more public activities (we were all very isolated to keep Ada from getting infections).

3. Tami took a leave of absence upon Ada's diagnosis and I (Joel) took some time off initially but I've been working full-time since then due to my work generously accommodating numerous doctor's appointments, etc. I am beyond grateful to Evidation Health and all my coworkers for their support and understanding. However, given the strain splitting our family up will have, the upcoming medical decisions we will have to make, and the stage of Ada's treatment/disease I have just taken a leave of absence and am not sure when life will allow me to return. I'm hopeful I can start working again in a month as I love the company's mission, the people I work with, and working is nice therapy for me as well.

Things to look forward to: Ada is not well enough to travel commercially so Ada + 1 parent is likely going to be flown down there on a small aircraft which is pretty exciting. St. Jude's looks amazing with all sorts of cool things for kids to do (ok, I'll play with the things too). This is as promising a new drug as they have seen for AML in awhile, so there is hope!

Ultimately all we can do is keep trying to live in the moment, make the best of each day, remain pragmatically optimistic, and continue to rely on the support and kind words of our friends, family, and strangers.

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Linda Swenson — 1/17/23
Thanks for sharing Joel! Y’all are so amazing really!! Ada inspires me as well. Lots of prayers for her treatment at St Jude🙏🏻. Love that place and it’s mission for
the kids🥰. Hoping this will be the cure for sweet Ada😘💗
Jennifer Hollenbeck — 1/17/23
Sending love and positive thoughts for Ada and family from Bergstrom GM of Oshkosh
Lance Paulson — 1/13/23
We live just down the street and we are available to support your family in any way we can, meals, play dates or watching Oliver and Ellie. Please let us know.
Tanya McDonnell — 1/13/23
Praying all goes well for the move to St. Jude’s, treatment there, and your continued amazing strength through it all. Thinking of you all!
Aniek Janssen — 1/13/23
What an amazing strength and spirit you all have. Wishing you and Ada all the strength and love and luck you’ll need in Memphis. Enjoy the flight as well :) Big hugs ❤️
Barb Mullen — 1/12/23
Prayers, prayers and more prayers. Thank you for your posts on Caring Bridge. Please know that we care.
Estelle Couradeau — 1/12/23
Hello! I have been quietly reading news from your family here. I think about you a lot, especially when the cancer came back after all you had been through, this is so hard…what you both post here is always so full of respect and love, I really admire you for all the strength and resiliency. Of course I also became a big fan of Ada and how strong and full of life she is! Please let me know if there is anything we can do to help, I was wondering if we can contribute to the food train from afar by having something delivered maybe? On a side note I am visiting EMSL today and this is mass spec land which made me think of you Tami!!
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Nicole Burm — 1/12/23
Thank you for the update! Hugs and love to you all! ❤️🤞🙏
Mike Goldsher — 1/12/23
Looking forward to trying to keep Oliver in good spirits and in good company at our house!
Beth Didreckson — 1/12/23
Praying!!!
Lisa Schmitt — 1/12/23
Wishing you much love as work through the next steps of this clinical trial
Kari Powell — 1/12/23
St Jude’s sounds like a great option. Not sure if Ada will get to leave the hospital at all, but our lake house is about 3 hours from Memphis, if you ever want to take her there for an escape. It’s yours if you need it!
Brad Swenson — 1/12/23
Ada will soon be another success story from St. Jude’s no doubt.
Kay aiken — 1/12/23
Love you all....
Erika Ulinskaite — 1/12/23
I hope you guys keep finding strength in this challenging journey. 🙏🏻🫶🏻..
praying for Ada’s recovery ❤️‍🩹!!!

January 9, 2023

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January 9, 2023

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January 9, 2023

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January 9, 2023

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January 9, 2023

Well, 2023 hasn't been great to us so far. Ada spiked a fever Friday morning, which meant we had to immediately go to the hospital. While a fever isn't necessarily an emergency for the typical kid, it is when they don't have neutrophils to fight the infection. Due to the chemo she is on, Ada's neutrophil count has been around zero. So we went to the ER (which was shockingly empty and a pleasant experience!) and then she was admitted. This is pretty standard for anyone with her condition- they just want to keep an eye on the fever and treat her with IV antibiotics around the clock until the fever goes away. As usual, she is enjoying her time here. She seemed to perk up instantly when we arrived. She promptly found her tricycle and made her rounds around the unit and made sure ALL the staff knew she was back. Ada's fever has been up and down since we've been here, but overall she seems to be feeling better. Her neutrophils even started to come up today so I am hopeful that her body will start to fight off whatever infection she has going on.

As far as everything else, its complicated and we have many more questions than we do answers right now. I am really hoping that this week will shed some light on what we will face in the near future. Ada had another bone marrow biopsy last week because blasts started to go up in her blood again (blasts are baby cells that are likely cancerous...but they could be normal blasts). She initially responded pretty well to the chemo she is currently on, but now we are not so sure. We should know more about what is going on in her bone marrow sometime this week and whether or not the chemo did anything. She has just 4 more days of the chemo pills and then we are not sure what the next step is. If the cancer went down, then we likely will repeat the month-long treatment that she just had to get it down further. If the chemo didn't work, then we have many more options. Unfortunately most of those options are phase 1 clinical trials (with experimental drugs). There is one clinical trial that seems especially promising so we are trying to get her into that. If we can, we will be at St. Jude (in Memphis) or Cincinnati in the near future (and we don't know for how long). Again, our goal right now is to get her back into remission and THEN she will be going through another bone marrow transplant with either me or Joel as the donor. It is way too daunting to think about all of these steps and possibilities so we continue to take it one day at a time. And most days lately we need to take it one minute at a time.

Many have asked how they can help. Just knowing that you are thinking of us and following along helps. But if you feel you need to do more, we opened up the meal train (under the "ways to help" tab on the top of this page) again to help while we have 2 kiddos at home and 1 stuck in the hospital. Feel free to sign up! We basically eat anything that isn't moving (too much). Thank you!!!

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Stephanie Valkovic — 1/9/23
Praying that Ada fights this infection and that you will soon have more answers to your questions. Ada and your family’s strength continues to inspire us all- may we all live with such zest for the day to day that Ada shows in sickness and in health. We began a prayer novena in Ada’s honor with the boys and some of my women’s group at church. I wanted to share it if any others wanted to join. You can start at any time.

https://www.praymorenovenas.com/st-peregrine-novena
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Kari Corrigan — 1/9/23
Sending endless Love and prayers!
Tim Felker — 1/9/23
🙏
Deb Berndt — 1/9/23
Keeping you and your family in our thoughts and prayers 🙏
Cari Felker — 1/9/23
You and the family are always in our thoughts and prayers.
Ron Felker — 1/9/23
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family every day ❤️
Nicholas Torres — 1/9/23
❤️
Tanya McDonnell — 1/9/23
Thinking of you and wishing for the best always! 🙏
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 1/9/23
Love you all. Sending you hugs
Aniek Janssen — 1/9/23
Big hugs for your strong family ❤️🍀
Beth Didreckson — 1/9/23
Praying for your precious little girl.
Linda Swenson — 1/9/23
Praying for Ada and your
family 🙏🏻. Love and admire her
positivity 🥰
Elisabeth Gibbons — 1/9/23
Thoughts are with your family Tami and Joel. Always following along and hoping each minute brings better news.
Luthien Niland — 1/9/23
WOW so many decisions and factors, and a whole family to care for - I can see why you can only take it a minute at a time. We love you all and are always thinking supportive thoughts for you all. <3
Kari Powell — 1/9/23
Praying for your spunky girl and for your family’s sustained ability to live in the moment. XOXO
Mariah Zenz — 1/9/23
Sending Ada and all of you all of our love!! ❤️ -Miss Mariah & Miss Bethanee
Lance Paulson — 1/9/23
Annie is preparing meals, Ada and your family are in our bedtime prayers every night and please let us know how else we can help. Stay strong!
Julie Leuthold — 1/9/23
I'm sorry to hear the New Year has been so difficult for all of you. Ada continues to keep her spirits high....she loved getting on the bike again.
We will continue to keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.
Angie Paulson — 1/9/23
We’ll be praying for Ada to get into the St Jude’s clinical trial. Hugs to everyone (and so happy to see visitors are allowed at AFCH!!!)
Kay aiken — 1/9/23
Sending love and hugs and hoping Ada gets home soon.

January 1, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/1/23
Our goofy resilient girl!

January 1, 2023

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January 1, 2023

Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/1/23
We had so much fun!

January 1, 2023

Cheryl Clark — 1/2/23
Love this silly family😘❣
Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/1/23
Silly family

January 1, 2023

Cheryl Clark — 1/2/23
Mommy...I didn't do it😇❣
Karen and Mark Swenson — 1/1/23
Sweet Ellie!

January 1, 2023 - Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone! We are very thankful that we had our whole family together over the holidays. Ada is still taking chemo (along with a bunch of other medicines) at home. She has had pretty bad nausea on and off throughout the week and we had to go to the hospital almost every day this week (she dressed up on her own volition for a few of them which the medical professionals loved). Despite that we would much rather have her getting treatment out-patient than in-patient because we can pounce on the moments that she is feeling well and enjoy our time together. We've spent lots of time enjoying our yard, the neighborhood park, bike rides, building forts inside, fishing Ellie's pants out of the toilet (after Ellie proudly took them off and put them there!), playing with grandparents (we remain super grateful for how much support and love they have provided), and even iceskating right next to Lake Mendota! Ada's zest for life and ability to find joy and humor despite the frequent pain and nausea continue to astound us.

 

We have some difficult decisions ahead of us for her next treatments options but there are a few options that give us hope for the start of a cure in 2023! Happy New Year all, we couldn't have gotten through this past one without all of you!

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Rachel Carlson — 1/4/23
Sending tons of love!
Lance Paulson — 1/2/23
We’re praying for success for Ada and your whole family with upcoming treatments.
Aniek Janssen — 1/2/23
Happy new year, sending you lots of love and strength for the coming year ❤️
Vera Aiken — 1/1/23
Sending love and prayers that her cure is awaiting in 2023! Happy New year.
Janine Zabel — 1/1/23
Sending you all love, prayers and positive vibes. Here to help if you need anything.
Mike Goldsher — 1/1/23
When Ada falls down she keeps getting up. Amazing grit for a four year old!
Penny Agar — 1/1/23
Happy New Year!! The pictures all look so fun and you all look great. Love the outfits too they are amazing! Sending Love and Prayers your way.
Rick and Penny
Erin Lynn — 1/1/23
Happy new year Swenson family! I’m so happy you’ve all been making such fond memories this holiday season! 😊
Linda Swenson — 1/1/23
Thanks for sharing, Joel! Ada inspires me for sure 🥰 Praying for her to be cancer free in 2023. 🙏🏻 Happy New Year! ❤️L
Kay aiken — 1/1/23
Sending you prayers and hugs. So thankful that your Ada has the spirit and spunkiness that she does to help her get through this. What a girl!! Love you all.
Sharon Clark — 1/1/23
💕
Sue Sullivan
January 1, 2023
Stay positive , Ada is a little fighter.

December 24, 2022

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December 24, 2022

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December 24, 2022

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December 24, 2022

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December 24, 2022

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December 24, 2022

Happy Holidays everyone! Yesterday we got to bring Ada home where she will take chemo in pill form daily for the next 3 weeks. We'll also be going in the hospital twice a week for checkups and occasionally some more chemo. We ended up having to stay in the hospital one more day than planned because her tummy's still been hurting her quite a bit but it's now to the point where we can manage it at home. We are very grateful to have everyone back under one roof and continue to be amazed by the support we've gotten from friends near and far. Well, I'm keeping this one short and apologies if there are typos, I just wanted to give everyone a quick update and now off to enjoying craziness with three kids under one roof.

 

 

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Jason Anderson — 12/27/22
Glad you all get to be at home again! Happy holidays to all of you :)
Kyle Felker — 12/26/22
Merry Christmas!!
Gene Cecchettini — 12/26/22
Thinking of you all and so glad to hear Ada is home with the family. Our love,
Gene and Rae
David Swenson — 12/25/22
So glad that Ada can be home for Christmas. We missed your family last night in Stevens Point. We pray for Ada (and family) every single day & we're hoping for that Christmas miracle.
Stephanie Valkovic — 12/25/22
Merry Christmas, Swenson family! So glad you will wake up under the same roof tomorrow morning ❤️ hope the kids aren’t up too early!
Tanya McDonnell — 12/24/22
Happy you can all be together at home for Christmas! 🙏
Barb Mullen — 12/24/22
Precious moments. Enduring perseverance. Prayers and well-wishes.
Aniek Janssen — 12/24/22
Enjoy the holidays together, big hugs and much love ❤️
Sue Sullivan — 12/24/22
So happy that you could be home for Christmas. Will keep everyone in my prayers.🙏🙏🙏
Lance Paulson — 12/24/22
Merry Christmas!
Ann Arango — 12/24/22
So glad Ada is home for Christmas!! Merry Christmas 🎅🏻
Alicia Swenson — 12/24/22
We’ll miss seeing you all today! Glad Ada is back home. Merry Christmas!
Kari Powell — 12/24/22
We will miss seeing you this year. Much love to you and the family!
Nicole Burm — 12/24/22
Merry Christmas 🎄
Sharon Clark — 12/24/22
Merry Christmas Joel, Tami and kids. So glad Ada is able to be home.❤️

December 19, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 12/19/22
#Adastrong

December 19, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 12/19/22
She is the strongest and bravest little girl I know, and LOVE ❤️

December 19, 2022

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December 19, 2022

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December 19, 2022

Here we are again. Ada was admitted on Friday for a lumbar puncture (to check for cancer cells in the spinal fluid) and another bone marrow biopsy to do next gen sequencing (to better understand if there are any genetic targets for drugs). Then in the evening she began chemo. Luckily, this round of chemo should be less intense than what she got previously. It consists of 7 days of once-a-day infusions (in the hospital) and 4 weeks of taking a chemo pill. So that means one week in the hospital (hopefully home by this Thursday) and then 3 weeks at home. This regimen is lighter (if there is such a thing for chemo) and has been successful especially for people that can't tolerate intense treatments. Ada is still very much recovering from the bone marrow transplant she had in September so she can't be on any strong meds with a high risk of toxic side effects. One of our first thoughts was how the heck can we get a 4 year old to swallow a pill!? Well, so far Ada has exceeded our expectations. Turns out if you roll medicine into a spoonful of ice cream, it can be easily and unnoticeably swallowed!

We are now on Day 4 of treatments and it's going as well as we could hope for. We are beyond devastated that we are back here and especially so soon after transplant. All we can hope for now is that we get the cancer into remission (either after this round of treatment or subsequent rounds). We just don't know if these meds will do it or if we will have to look into more targeted immunotherapies or clinical trials. We are taking it one day at a time. As always, Ada acts as if nothing is wrong and is thrilled to be back at the hospital. She is just in her element here. She loves all the nurses and staff, the unlimited toys, the attention and not having to share with her brother and sister! She instantly found her bike and has hit up all parts of the hospital (with me running after her with her iv pole). It's really only a matter of time she collides with someone on that thing! I'm happy to see the energy though.

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Barb Mullen — 1/2/23
An amazing chronicle of determination, positivity and patience that defines your family. What a team-you inspire in a big way. Stay strong and know that we are praying for you. Barb and Marty Mullen
Penny Agar — 12/21/22
Merry Christmas
We are glad Ada got to see Santa. Lots of prayers to you all! Rick and Penny
Lisa Schmitt — 12/20/22
Love the positive attitudes of everyone :-) Sounds like she is in control of the hospital activities :-)
Michael Fox — 12/20/22
An amazing story!! Amazing family.
Mike Goldsher — 12/19/22
Can’t wait to take Ada fishing this spring!
Kathryn Sederberg — 12/19/22
So sorry to hear about the relapse. Love the pictures of Ada biking around the hospital - what a strong kid! Thinking of your family and sending lots of positive thoughts your way.
Marisa Lukesic — 12/19/22
Love, love , love to Ada and your family. All fingers and toes are crossed for a happy and healthy 2023. My best to Ada and all of the Swenson fam. Love you guys!!
Nicole Burm — 12/19/22
Hugs and prayers!
Cari Felker — 12/19/22
Such a strong resilient little girl❤️
Sharon Clark — 12/19/22
Another round of hugs coming your way💕
Julie Leuthold — 12/19/22
Another mountain to climb. But with her additude and of course her bike, she can achieve anything. Its nice hearing she loves the hospital and the whole staff.
You're family remains in my thoughts and prayers
Lance Paulson — 12/19/22
We had the same challenge with getting Samuel to swallow oral meds. We got small gelatin capsules from the pharmacy and put the liquid SSKI Samuel had to swallow inside. We then buried the capsule in a spoonful of chocolate syrup. It worked great. Not sure Ada’s tabs are small enough to fit inside a capsule but maybe this will help. Stay strong. Ada and your family are in our prayers.
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Ron Felker — 12/19/22
Amazing little girl!!!, Just know you are always in our prayers 💞

December 15, 2022

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December 15, 2022

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December 15, 2022

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December 15, 2022

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December 15, 2022

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December 14, 2022

Unfortunately we have bad news. Ada's cancer has returned and she has officially relapsed. We have been quite worried for the past few weeks for a constellation of reasons so its not a surprise. Nevertheless it has been a hard day with many challenges in our future. We will continue trying to live in the moment and make the most of each day. We are still waiting for some test results to help direct Ada's treatment plan but the most likely is that she will be admitted to the hospital either tomorrow or Friday for at least a 7 day treatment of chemo. If that goes well we can continue her treatments at home (out-patient). Assuming that we can get the cancer into remission again she will likely need another bone marrow transplant (this is at least months in the future).

We remain grateful for everyone's support and will continue to rely on your words of encouragement. I also opened our meal train back up for a few weeks as that previously relieved some stress and allowed us to focus more on the kids. Love to all and hug your loved ones!

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Lisa Schmitt — 12/18/22
Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers
Bill Hinton — 12/16/22
I pray Jesus and his mother Mary be with you all during these difficult times and that God will lay his healing hand upon Ada.
Jason Anderson — 12/16/22
Joel, I'm so very sorry to hear this! Wishing the very best for Ada's treatment, and sending love to your family. Please let me know of any other ways that we can be supportive.
Brett & Julie Cable — 12/16/22
I’m so sorry to hear this. I will keep Ada and your family in my prayers!
Luthien Niland — 12/16/22
Oh gosh I am so sorry, you have all been through so much. The photos are great, what a wonderful world you are providing for and showing your kids, they are so lucky to have you as parents. All our love ❤️
David Drummond — 12/15/22
I'm so sorry to hear this news, but thinking of you all and hoping for the best in these very difficult times.
Shannon Gibbons — 12/15/22
Our hearts are so saddened to hear this news. We continue to pray for your Ada and your family for strength to get through this challenging road and for success in treatments ahead…
❤️ Love,
Shannon Gibbons and Family
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Sharon Clark — 12/15/22
How heartbreaking this news is. There are no words just continued prayers..
Alicia Swenson — 12/15/22
So sorry to hear this—absolutely devastating. Thinking of you all lots. Love and hugs.
David Swenson — 12/15/22
Sending love, thoughts and prayers for strength and healing.
Barb Mullen — 12/15/22
Continued prayers.
Ann Parplys — 12/15/22
I am really sorry to hear! You are all in our hearts. Love from Germany
Tanya McDonnell — 12/15/22
So sorry it came back and you have to go through this. You’re all so strong and you’ve got this!! Also thanks for giving us a chance to support you with the meal train. Sending positive vibes and love!
Aniek Janssen — 12/15/22
We’re so sorry to hear this… Wishing you and Ada much strength and love to get through this again. Big hugs and much love, Aniek
Nell Marshall — 12/15/22
I’m so sorry to hear this. Sending you all love and positive thoughts. Love the picture of you all baking cookies.
Jane Klimenko — 12/14/22
Sending support and heartfelt hope for better news down the road ❤️
Peter Mullen — 12/14/22
Sorry to hear this. We’re thinking about you guys!
Sue Sullivan — 12/14/22
Sending hugs and prayers so sorry to hear this. Ada is a fighter but must be so hard to think of going through this again🙏🙏🙏
Stephanie Valkovic — 12/14/22
We are so sorry. We are continuing to pray for Ada and your family. We love and miss you guys.
Brad Swenson — 12/14/22
We hope she can kick this cancer’s butt for good this time.
Laura Aiken — 12/14/22
I'm so sorry that you've gotten this news. Sending so much love and healing thoughts, Ada is a superhero 💜💜
Cathy McCorkell — 12/14/22
We are so sorry to hear your news. May the Lord give you strength as you walk through this journey again. We will be lifting you all up in prayer 🙏 C&G
Beth Didreckson — 12/14/22
So very sorry. Will continue to be praying for your special little one.
Lance Paulson — 12/14/22
Don’t lose faith. Our little ones are more resilient than we imagine. Remember, Aida’s care draws upon the expertise of the leading doctors and researchers in the world, there are viable treatment options available to Aida and AFCH is one of the best centers in the world. Stay strong. God is with you.
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don carlson — 12/14/22
Thanks for the difficult update. Really sorry this is what is happening. Sending positive thoughts to you all. Please reach out if you need anything. We will be getting on the meal train as well.
Janine Zabel — 12/14/22
I’m so sorry to hear of this news. Keeping you all in our prayers.🙏Keep fighting like a kid, Ada! 💪 If you need anything, we are here to help.❤️
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 12/14/22
So sorry to hear!!! Keeping you all in our thoughts!!! Keep fighting!!! You guys got this!!!!💕
Kari Corrigan — 12/14/22
I am so sorry to hear this. Sending so much love, hugs, and healing vibes your way. We are here to support you in any way possible, please never hesitate to reach out for anything, anything at all.
Cari Felker — 12/14/22
We are so sorry your family has to go through this. Ada will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. Love you all.
Ann Arango — 12/14/22
Not the news we were hoping and praying for. We’re here for anything you need. ❤️
Julie Leuthold — 12/14/22
Not the news we all wanted to hear. Nonetheless, the pictures bring joy as Ada and the family are enjoying this special times. I will keep Ada's wonderful spirit in my heart.
Debbie McKenzie — 12/14/22
Joel and Tami--so sorry to hear this. Let us know how we can help. Sending love to Ada and all of you. Hugs!
Eric J. Daza — 12/14/22
I'm so so sorry to hear this, Joel. Thank you for sharing this difficult update. Let me know how I can help at work. We're all sending Ada and your family a lot of love!
Kay aiken — 12/14/22
So very sad to hear this. Will continue with our prayers...love you all.
Becky Aiken — 12/14/22
Sending you all so much love ❤️

November 28, 2022

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November 28, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 11/28/22
Dr. Ada Strong

November 28, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 11/28/22
Goofy girl

November 28, 2022

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November 28, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 11/28/22
Sister ❤ 😍 Love!

November 27, 2022

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass but about learning how to dance in the rain. That is a saying that we've tried to live by for years (we have a sign up saying it in our basement!), but has been top of mind since Ada's diagnosis. Throughout it all our mantra has been to just make the best of the day that we have in front of us. Some days that was easy spending time with Oliver and Ellie, or biking through the hospital with Ada. Other days it was more challenging when Ada cried in pain.

The past few weeks have been a mix of joy and anxiety as Ada's cell counts continued to decrease. We started to notice symptoms that were present when Ada was first diagnosed (fatigue, bruises, etc) which made us quite anxious. The counts can decrease for a number of reasons ranging from she had a minor cold, some of her medicines are suppressing them, the engraftment is failing, the cancer is coming back, etc. Each week they went down we worried more that the engraftment didn't work or that the cancer was coming back. We tried to live in and enjoy the moments we had (and were mostly successful) but it was hard to do as we anxiously awaited for the next hospital visit. This past Wednesday Ada went in for her latest tests and most of her cell counts took a positive turn and are now heading up! This is great news as it supports the hypothesis that a mild cold was the culprit all along. She still needs weekly tests to make sure that things are still headed in the right direction but it was very welcome news. Given her test results we actually got permission to take her to spend a few nights at her grandparents house (my parents). My brother and his family were visiting as well so it was so much fun to be able to spend time with so much family. The cousins played games together, sled together, and generally had a great time.

Random things: her hair is starting to come in! Right now it looks straight and black, so that will be interesting! We decorated for Christmas and Ada (and Oliver) loves it! :) :) 

Despite the challenging year that we've had we always have a lot to be thankful for. Top of that list is the hope that Oliver's donation and Ada's fighting spirit have given us. We also remain incredibly grateful for the support from you all and all the medical professionals who have cared for Ada and Oliver (and Tami and I)! I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving and were able to find plenty of things to be thankful for!

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Sharon Clark — 12/5/22
It is so great to hear some positive upbeat news. May you and the entire family have more ups than downs and may you all have a wonderful Christmas. Hug s❤️
Rachel Carlson — 11/29/22
What great news! Keep it up cells! We are so glad for this update. And -- yay for hair growing in!
Kathryn Sederberg — 11/29/22
Great to hear positive news! Love this slogan and your family's strength and positivity. Enjoy the holidays!!
Julie Leuthold — 11/28/22
This is awesome, uplifting news. 😀
David Swenson — 11/28/22
Great news - you guys have been amazing throughout this journey. We're y'all's biggest fans. Hoping and praying for continued progress and a return to normal living.
Nicole Burm — 11/28/22
Thank you for sharing the news! Love you guys and will continue to pray! Happy holidays all ❤️❤️💚
Kay aiken — 11/27/22
So happy you were able to spend Thanksgiving with family. God bless you all...Praying for more good news.
Nicholas Torres — 11/27/22
❤️
Linda Swenson — 11/27/22
Praying for a complete recovery for Ada 🙏🏻. Even though this is an emotional roller coaster I believe Ada will come out on top!
Hang in there ! Prayers for your family as well🙏🏻😘
Erika Ulinskaite — 11/27/22
Can’t imagine what you guys are going through this year, wishing you never lose hope in dark moments, may your family be blessed with many blessings, endless love, courage, peace, joy and health. Sending you love and hugs!!!! So happy to hear that Ada is doing better 🙏🏻🫶🏻🥳

November 18, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 11/17/22
She is such a goofball!

November 18, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 11/18/22
Sister ❤ love

November 18, 2022

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November 18, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 11/17/22
A fun night!

November 18, 2022

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November 17, 2022

Once again it has been way too long since my last update! Apparently time flies when you are busy with 3 crazy kids. Overall, things are great. Ada appears to be healthy, continues to have endless energy, and is thrilled to finally have some snow to play with. Every single day she asks our Google Home system if it is going to snow today. FINALLY it said "yes". She has been outside at least once a day to have snowball battles with her siblings (and us), making snowmen, trying to sled down a mostly-grass hill, and doing snow angels. She even convinced me to put up the Christmas tree today since it really is starting to feel like Christmas. Why not!

In medical news, her bone marrow biopsy went pretty well. The pathology report was fairly clean (which means they didn't see anything resembling cancer under the microscope). However, based on the cytogenetics tests they ran, there were some mutations present in a few cells that were also present when Ada was initially diagnosed in May. This isn't necessarily the cancer, but we do know that it is not "normal" and it just needs to be monitored closely. On the bright side, most of the cells they did see were Oliver's. So we can only hope that the transplant continues to work and that his cells destroy any remaining leukemia cells. Also, the past few weeks have been a bit stressful as Ada's cell counts are decreasing (white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, etc). When this all started, she had some kind of cold so the doctors think it is very likely just related to a virus (apparently viruses suppress cells for a while especially in immunocompromised people). So again we just have to wait and see. If her counts continue to decrease for another week or two we may end up getting another bone marrow biopsy done to see what is going on there. They also took another blood sample to look at engraftment success and we hope to see those results in about a week. We continue to take one day at a time, take lots of deep breaths, and are just enjoying all being together. We have certainly learned that things can change rapidly so we need to enjoy every minute together. 

Finally, in case you didn't see it, I designed a Christmas Ada shirt to go along with this year's theme of "ho ho hope"! Any profits we get from these shirts will be used to buy gifts for kids at the UW Children's Hospital: https://www.bonfire.com/store/adas-shirt-shop/

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Michael Fox — 11/20/22
Love those shirts! !!
Sue Sullivan — 11/19/22
Keeping all of you in my daily prayers 🙏
Aniek Janssen — 11/18/22
Sending many good vibes and much love to you ❤️
Jane Klimenko — 11/17/22
Thanks for the update! Glad to hear everyone is in good spirits. Hope cell counts improve soon.
Kay aiken — 11/17/22
Thanks for the update. Praying her test results bring good news. Glad she is enjoying the snow. That makes the snow in November ok with me! Sending you our love.
Linda Swenson — 11/17/22
Great photos and a good report. Continued prayers for sweet Ada and your beautiful family. Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁 🙏🏻💕
Sharon Clark — 11/17/22
So glad she enjoys the snow (me, not so much), wishing each of you a very happy Thanksgiving. So much to be thankful for❤️
Lance Paulson — 11/17/22
Ada and your whole family continue to be in our prayers. Enjoy the snow and have a great Thanksgiving!

October 26, 2022

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October 26, 2022

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October 26, 2022

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October 26, 2022

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October 26, 2022

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October 21, 2022- Day +42

Wow. Somehow nearly two weeks have gone by since my last update! I can't believe we are already on Day +42 (from the transplant). Ada continues to do pretty well. Her appetite is very slowly returning. It seems to be stimulated by some competition- today she ate really well only because her little sister was trying to steal it! She continues to experience some nausea and vomiting, but apparently that is typical as her GI continues to get back to normal after all the chemo. Ada's energy has not been an issue and fortunately it never really has! The only issue we had recently was when Ada's ng tube come out (through her mouth) when she got sick the other night. Of course we still rely on the ng for her medicines, giving her fluids and food so we needed to get it replaced within a day or so. For some reason we had to go to the ER to get this done. So Joel took her and it took about 6 hours! It's fairly easy for her to get a new ng tube so at this point my only concern is that hopefully she didn't catch some nasty germs while at the ER!

Yesterday, Ada's little sister, Ellie stopped going to daycare and began staying home with Ada and me. It was a very tough decision to make, but we figured it was best to keep daycare germs away from Ada and since I'll be home caring for Ada for the next 6+ months it made sense to have both girls home. So far they are having a blast together. They have a very interesting relationship. Ada is VERY motherly and wants to do everything for/ with Ellie. She wants to carry her, change her diaper, play with her, help her eat, dress her, etc. Ellie isn't sure how she feels about that. She doesn't like being smothered so there is a lot of chasing involved. These next few months will be another big test of my patience, but I am looking forward to taking a step away from my career to focus on these kiddos for a while. 

Last week Joel and I got to participate in the American Family Children's Hospital Radiothon. It is a way for the hospital to raise money for various resources for patients and their families. I had heard of it before, but never listened. I was hesitant to do it at first, but I am SO glad we signed up for it. We got to go into the radio studio and talk about Ada's story for two radio stations. At the end, we were interviewed by a local news station (video attached). It was an incredible way to talk about Ada and Oliver and to meet other families that are or have been in similar situations. It was also great to be involved in raising money for such an important cause (and one that helped us tremendously over the past few months!).

Ada got to see and feel snow last week. She was thrilled... I was not. She also got to go trunk or treating, ride in Papa's new convertible, carve a pumpkin, go hiking and we finally made it on our first trip to Mayme and Papa's (Grandma and Grandpa's) since April! It was just a day trip, but we packed it with loads of fun. We visited Great Mayme and Papa, played outside (it was 70 degrees!) and then we got to go to cousin Keira's 4th birthday party (outside and with just family of course). It was so nice to experience some normalcy for once and to finally see some family we haven't seen in months. 

Ada has a bone marrow biopsy tomorrow just to check in on things- most importantly to look for the presence of any genetic mutations that were in her cancer cells back in May/ June. Her last few biopsies showed that she was cancer-free, so I will be on pins and needles over the next few days awaiting results and hoping that she is still healthy.

https://youtu.be/MEdK6PJfRys

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Sue Sullivan — 10/29/22
So glad things are going well I will keep all of you in my prayers.
Sue Sullivan — 10/26/22
🙏🙏🙏
Julie Leuthold — 10/26/22
What wonderful news. I've passed along your interview with a number of my friends.
Erin Lynn — 10/26/22
Our hearts are beyond warmed and happy that Ada is home and doing so well!! 😊❤️
Amy Head — 10/26/22
I’m so glad to hear that things are going well for Ada and the family. I hope this path continues. Sending love to you all. Amy Head
Angie Paulson — 10/25/22
So happy to hear the kids made it to the trunk or treat & family gatherings. We’ll be thinking of everyone tomorrow. Our prayers never stop - Hugs to all of you
Kay aiken — 10/25/22
Sending hugs and prayers for great test results.
Sharon Clark — 10/25/22
Glad to hear that things are going well and that you are getting at least someplace close to normal. We all know it’s been a struggle but we also know that you are all very strong, especially Ada and super hero Oliver❤️
Hugs, Sharon

October 16, 2022

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October 16, 2022

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October 16, 2022

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October 16, 2022

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October 16, 2022

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October 15, 2022- Day +32

We are already 1 month post-transplant! Everything is going as well as can be expected. We are adjusting to being a full family again and are loving it! We have certainly learned to appreciate how nice it is just to all be home together. Ada has been very busy playing with Oliver and Ellie, playing with her toys, biking, etc. Her cell counts continue to go up and she feels good overall. We also found out that one of her cell lines is about 100% Oliver's cells!! That means the transplant worked (so far)! We will continue to monitor this over the next several months. She is also on lots of medicines to prevent bacterial, viral and fungal infections and to prevent graft vs host disease.

Our past week has been filled with celebrations. As we left the hospital, several staff and patients lined the hallway and cheered, sang, made noise and blew bubbles. Ada was pretty terrified (she hasn't seen that many people in a long time!). She then had the opportunity to ring the bell to signal the end of treatment. It took a lot of encouragement, but she rang it with our help! It was a beautiful send-off! Ada's (and Ellie's) daycare celebrated Ada this week by all wearing Ada shirts and they even all went outside to greet her. Ada was terrified again, but she did enjoy seeing her old teachers and friends. I am so touched by how wonderful this school has been!

I will of course continue to provide updates as much as I can. Hopefully the coming weeks, months and years are uneventful regarding Ada's health. We could all use it. Thanks again for everyone's support through all of this!

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Julie Leuthold — 10/16/22
Ringing a bell!
Fern Swenson — 10/16/22
Wonderful news!! So happy for all of you.
Nicole Burm — 10/16/22
❤️ thank you for the updates! Y’all continue in our thoughts and prayers!
Nicholas Torres — 10/16/22
❤️
Aniek Janssen — 10/16/22
Wonderful news!! Wishing you many many uneventful healthy years, big hugs Coen & Aniek ❤️
Lance Paulson — 10/15/22
Yeah Swensons! There’s no place like home!
Emily Karch — 10/15/22
What a journey your family has been on! I am so blessed to know Ada and your whole family. You are all so strong and brave! I am so excited to wear my new Santa shirt! She played Santa all the time in Costa Rica! ❤️ Send Ada my love!
Sharon Clark — 10/15/22
Such wonderful news. Thanks, Joel and Tami, for keeping us updated. It’s great to know that you’re all together at home after such a long and trying time❤️

October 6, 2022- BMT Day +23

HOME!!!! We are being discharged today!! No more treatments!! Ada has made incredible improvements this week. We transitioned all of her iv meds to oral (or through her ng tube), she hasn't had any fevers, her cell counts keep going up and her energy is back in full force. This hospital room became MUCH smaller this week. We are very ready to go home. I never thought I'd actually feel kind of sad leaving here. While all of this has been terrible to go through, the hospital experience has been incredible. All of the staff (nurses, assistants, doctors, child life, PT, OT, etc) have been so amazing. They all know how to interact (or deal) with Ada, keep a positive attitude no matter what and constantly asked what we needed. They made such a terrible situation feel somewhat comfortable (as much as you can be in the hospital). I can't believe it has been 5+ months. We have spent over 100 days here. Part of me will miss being in the comfort of the hospital in case something goes wrong and being surrounded by others that are going through a similar experience. However, I can't wait to be back home and have the family together. I am sure it will take some time to get back to "normal", but I look forward to the challenge. The next 6 months might be tough. Ada has to be isolated since her immune system is so young and fragile. This means no school/ daycare, no dirt or sand, staying close to home, limited visitors, and tons of activity restrictions. She will go to the clinic every Wednesday to get labs done to be sure her organs are functioning properly, her bone marrow is working, and the biggest- be sure her cancer hasn't returned. Any sign of sickness, especially a fever, can land her back in the hospital so she can be promptly treated. We have to keep a close eye on any signs of graft vs host disease (where Oliver's cells attack Ada's body) which can manifest in a variety of ways. For the most part it is treatable, but it could become serious. Fortunately, with a perfectly matched sibling (Oliver), this disease is less likely to be serious. Fingers crossed!

Stay tuned for some pics/ videos of Ada celebrating the end of treatment and leaving the hospital!
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Jane Klimenko — 10/8/22
Thank you for the update! So glad to hear recovery is going well.
Stephanie Valkovic — 10/7/22
Such wonderful news! We are so happy for your family. You have shown such strength through adversity and we hope things continue to improve day by day! Welcome home!
Gene Cecchettini — 10/7/22
Dear Swensons, we are so pleased to learn that things are moving in a positive direction and that you'll be together at home.
We think of you and your wonderful family often.
Love, Rae and Gene
Barb Mullen — 10/7/22
Such wonderful news! We are so happy for all of you.
Angie Paulson — 10/7/22
Hallelujah 🤗🎉
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 10/7/22
That’s awesome!!!!
Shannon Gibbons — 10/6/22
Wonderful news!!!!! So excited for your family to be in the comfort of your own home. ❤️
Shannon (Davis) Gibbons
Erin Lynn — 10/6/22
Absolutely wonderful news!!!! LOTS of hugs to all of you!!
Linda Swenson — 10/6/22
So happy for Ada and your Family! Still praying for full recovery and no cancer🙏🏻 Enjoy a return to more normal 😘
Emily Karch — 10/6/22
Great news!🥰
Kay aiken — 10/6/22
Hallelujah!!
Cheryl Clark — 10/6/22
Best news ever!!😍 I agree with Tami, UW hospital was awesome with our little Ada. The health team was amazing. They all loved Ada and took such great care of her!! We will forever be grateful for the support and care and love they gave to our Ada. (and to Tami and Joel)❣❣❣❣
Bill Hinton — 10/6/22
GREAT NEWS!!! I will keep you all in my prayers.
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 10/6/22
Best news ever!!!!!! So happy for everyone!
Neil Swenson — 10/6/22
🥰
Sharon Clark — 10/6/22
Hallelujah ❤️
Chandra Brewer — 10/6/22
Fantastic news!!! 🎉
Aniek Janssen — 10/6/22
What an amazing news, your family is incredible. Much love ❤️
Ann Arango — 10/6/22
Wahoo!!!!
Rachel Carlson — 10/6/22
Smiling ear to ear over here!!! Yes!!! We are thrilled that you all are headed home. Sending tons of love.
Jordan Wiklund — 10/6/22
PHENOMENAL news!
Alicia Swenson — 10/6/22
So happy to hear Ada will be home and you can all be together again!
Nicholas Torres — 10/6/22
That’s really wonderful, really happy for your family!
Lori Michal — 10/6/22
That is the best news!!!!
I’m so happy for all of you🤗
💜Enjoy your family time together💜
Sara Berndt — 10/6/22
So happy for you all!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 10/6/22
Awesome, awesome AWESOME! We are so excited and thankful our little sweetheart is going home❤️
Debbie McKenzie — 10/6/22
Tami, Joel and all! This is such wonderful news! Happy for you all to be home. Such an awesome family!
Deb Berndt — 10/6/22
That is such GREAT news👍😀❤️❤️

October 2, 2022

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October 2, 2022

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October 2, 2022

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October 2, 2022

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October 2, 2022

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October 02, 2022- BMT Day +19

Ada has officially engrafted (although we still don't know if it's hers or Oliver's cells)!! This basically means that her bone marrow is working and producing red blood cells (very slowly), white blood cells and platelets. Her numbers have been increasing for almost a week now and her neutrophils have remained over 500 for 3 days. Her recent transition from miserable to energetic Ada has been remarkable. Just a couple of days ago she was constantly complaining of mouth pain and couldn't keep much down. Her pain just didn't seem under control. Today she jumped out of bed, changed her diaper and ran out into the hall to meet the doctors! She said her mouth is all better and has been non-stop playing since 11 am this morning (although she finally crashed for a nap at 4 pm). Over the next week or so we still need to get her off of her IV meds, get her to tolerate tube feeds (or eat by mouth) and make sure she has no more fevers. There is certainly a lot that could still happen that would hinder our ability to go home, but things seem good so far. Hopefully she will be home in about 1 week. We are also anxiously awaiting test results to see what percentage of Ada's new cells are hers vs Oliver's (ie. how much Adaver she is... get it?). We probably won't know for another week. Either way, it's such a relief to have a little bit of our sassy and energetic girl back!

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Tanya McDonnell — 10/4/22
So happy to hear she’s doing much better!! Wonderful ❤️
Sharon Clark — 10/4/22
So glad to hear positive news. She is such a fighter! Sending hugs❤️
Angie Paulson — 10/3/22
Wonderful update ❤️
Rachel Carlson — 10/3/22
Yes! Yes! Yes! This is all great news. We can't wait for the next update that will bring Ada even closer to coming home.
Sue Sullivan — 10/3/22
So glad she is back to being that amazing little person.🙏🙏🙏
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 10/3/22
Super news. Continued prayers for a great recovery!
Barb Mullen — 10/2/22
So happy to hear this news!
Lance Paulson — 10/2/22
Fantastic news! Progress! Go Swenson Family! God is good.
Cari Felker — 10/2/22
Such great news that she had a good day. Keeping you all in our prayers.
Julie Leuthold — 10/2/22
I carry her in my heart everyday 💓
Gene Cecchettini — 10/2/22
Good news! God Bless Ada and her Team!
Lori Michal — 10/2/22
Awesome news💜continued prayers!!!!
Nicholas Torres — 10/2/22
❤️
Kay aiken — 10/2/22
Fantastic news!! Thanks for sharing. Love you all!
Linda Swenson — 10/2/22
Great news!! Still praying for Ada’s complete recovery 🙏🏻💗

Fight like a kid! Day 14 post BMT - September 27, 2022

"Fight like a kid" is a saying we see/hear around the hospital (and a non-profit started by a teenager), Ada epitomizes this saying. The past week or so has been incredibly hard on Ada and heartbreaking for us to see. As Tami mentioned last time she has severe mucositis and there are no approved medications for her (based on her age, type of transplant, etc). Right now the pain is under better control with the continuous morphine and we can push a button to give her some extra (a "bolus") when she needs it. Its a tough balance of morphine to keep the pain under control, keeping it a safe dose, and drowsiness. Right now she spends most of her time sleeping and the vomiting has decreased as well. A handful of times throughout the day (and more so overnight) the pain will break through but a bolus of morphine plus getting creative to figure out how to distract her mind gets things back to a manageable level.

I share all of this not to depress people but to highlight how much Ada is fighting like a kid. Right now the only time she is unhooked from her IV (she calls it her "tubey") is when she is taking a bath. Last night she was unhooked, taking a bath and in a lot of pain. Since she was disconnected from her "tubey" we couldn't give her morphine so the nurse and I were trying to quickly get her out of the bath and hooked up again. She refused, gritted through the pain and insisted on going out in the BMT hallway (a maybe 20' hallway just outside her room that she can play in if no one else is there). She gathered Santa (a 3' tall gift from Tami's aunt), threw some stuffies in a backpack (she says "pack-pack"), and headed out to the hallway. She then instructed the nurse and me to sit on the floor in a circle with her and Santa, she gave us each a stuffy and we each took turns doing "show and share". After that she biked around on her bike, I kicked some balls that she chased on her bike, and got up to other fun. Throughout all of this Ada has shown us that we don't need to wait for the storm to pass, we just have to learn to dance in the rain!

Over the next few days she won't always be able to "dance in the rain", but if there is any extra ounces of strength in her little body she will want to play. We will keep taking each day one at a time and do all we can to make her comfortable and make the best of each day. Hopefully her numbers keep increasing and we can get her home in a few weeks. Until then, keep fighting like a kid Ada, you are so loved by so many! Thanks again for everyone's support!

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Kari Powell — 10/2/22
Wow. She is such an amazing human.
Fern Swenson — 10/2/22
Guess everyone else has said it all! Sounds like Ada is really "fighting like a kid! ". Keep up the good work! Thanks for all the posts!
Michael Fox — 10/1/22
Love and light to all my Swenson friends!! from Michael in Japan
Cari Felker — 9/30/22
Such a strong little fighter. We are so proud of your whole family. Love you all❤️
Stephanie Valkovic — 9/29/22
Thinking of and rooting for you, Ada- you are such an inspiration!
Angie Paulson — 9/29/22
Hang in there Ada and family 🙏
Barb Mullen — 9/29/22
Fight like a kid, Ava!
Jane Klimenko — 9/29/22
Hang in there, little Ada and family, it's darkest before the dawn. Sending love from California ❤️
Sue Sullivan — 9/28/22
Ada is a fighter. Keep fighting with her mom and dad, can’t imagine how painful this is for you hugs and prayers.
Linda Swenson — 9/28/22
Keep fighting Ada (and playing too). Love you and praying for complete recovery 🥰🙏🏻🚴
Aniek Janssen — 9/28/22
Sending Ada and you much love and strength ❤️
Debbie McKenzie — 9/27/22
Bravo, Miss Ada-- such a strong little girl. Bravo also, Joel and Tami-- such awesome parents providing strength. Our thoughts are with you all! Adastrong💪
Kay aiken — 9/27/22
What a beautifully written update. The imagery of Ada dancing in the rain while she, and her amazing family, are weathering this storm is powerful.

Prayers for her pain to resolve, her counts to go up, and her spirit to stay strong as we all wait with you for this storm to pass and only sunny, beautiful days ahead for Ada and her family.

We love you all.
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Molly Murgatroyd — 9/27/22
Kids really are superheroes. Ada is an amazing testament to that. We could all learn something from them. Thinking of you guys ❤️
Janine Zabel — 9/27/22
🙏❤️🙏Keeping you all in our prayers as Ada continues to fight like a kid. 🙏❤️🙏
Julie Leuthold — 9/27/22
This is heartbreaking. I can't believe what a fighter Ada is. Loving you all.
Vera Aiken — 9/27/22
I simply cannot believe how strong she has been trhough all of this. She is sure teaching us a lot!
I will keep my thoughts and prayers that her pain shall pass soon. I know this is a though road, but please know she is very loved and we are all cheering for her recovery.
Keep fighting our sweet Ada!
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Lauren Swenson — 9/27/22
Hate to think of her in such pain, but love her fighting spirit! Thanks for sharing. 💕
don carlson — 9/27/22
Wow! She is so strong and strong willed. Amazing strength kids have within them. Keep up the fight!
Cheryl Clark — 9/27/22
Keep up that fight sweet Ada girl!! You are loved so much❣
Sharon Clark — 9/27/22
Joel, your journal entry made me tear up but it also reconfirmed what a fighter Ada is. That brave sweet child will recover from all of this
and prayers will be answered. I am hopeful that your lovely family will all be together at home soon.💕
Sharon
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Lance Paulson — 9/27/22
Our Samuel underwent 2 bone marrow transplants at nearly the same age as Ada and he remembers very little , if any at all, of the very worst of it. I hope you find comfort in knowing that Ada probably won’t either. Continued prayers for Ada and your whole family.
Emily Townley — 9/27/22
You and Tami are the strongest parents. Ada is so little but mighty... a fighter she is! One day at a time. Thinking of you guys every day, sending love!
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 9/27/22
She is definitely a fighter and such an inspiration to sooo many people!!! 💕
Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/27/22
Keep fighting Ada! We love you so much sweetheart and want you healthy and home soon!

September 26, 2022

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September 26, 2022

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September 26, 2022

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September 26, 2022- BMT Day +13

Things have been going as expected since my last update- tough. Again, we were told that these would be the hardest days and they have been. The mucositis appears to be very painful and Ada has been fighting a fever on and off for the past few days. She has been on continuous morphine (controlled by a button we can press if she needs more), antibiotics, and IV nutrition (since she can't keep much down when fed through her ng tube). Luckily the morphine helps especially when we give her an extra dose and once we started the IV nutrition yesterday she really began to perk up! Friday and Saturday were especially difficult because Ada just didn't want to get out of bed or do much besides sleep and watch tv (again, all very normal). Yesterday was a complete shift! She sat up in bed and played with stickers for a couple of hours, got out of bed to go potty and look at the helicopter, and then after her bath she even went out in the hallway for some trike bowling!!! To top off the day, she had milk and a bowl of oatmeal just before bed (at almost 10 pm)! She woke up in pain a few times throughout the night, but I was very happy that she kept her food down and was very talkative (even during the night...not ideal, but I'll take it!). The goal is for her to get out of bed at least 3 times a day. A few days ago, that goal was hard to hit. Today we are already at 2. Also, her cell counts are starting to increase! We don't know if that's a true sign of engraftment yet since that is when her neutrophils are at 500 for 3 days. She is at 90 (it was zero for the past several days). We just have to take it day by day and hope that this upward trend continues. She will also need to be weaned off of all of her iv meds (see pics of her tube jungle) and not have a fever before we can go home. It make take another week or two.

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Ron Felker — 9/26/22
Ada and her family are always in our thoughts and prayers ❣️
Audrey Felker — 9/26/22
Tami! Spent time with your mom today so we always have an update and pictures from her. Always glad to have us posted on things that are happening. Was so glad to see Ada bike bowling. At least she is out of her bed. Just remember there are better days ahead. Grandpa and I can't wait to give that little one a big hug in person!! What are so proud of you and Joel!
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Rachel Carlson — 9/26/22
We shall call you Warrior Ada, Tami, and Joel! ✨ Sending lots of love.
Vera Aiken — 9/26/22
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and Ada! I know this is all really hard now but I really admire your positivity! All of this shall get better soon.
Sue Sullivan — 9/26/22
Can’t begin to know how hard this must be but with your positive attitude and all the prayers things will get better soon. Sending hugs and prayers🙏🙏🙏
Valerie Broughton — 9/26/22
Your objective positivity creates the perfect environment for your daughter’s recovery and your health as well. You are the model parents. God bless you. Sending love and prayers.
Julie Leuthold — 9/26/22
Sending prayers, hugs and ❤️
Jana Montgomery — 9/26/22
So sorry this is so hard for everyone! Despite all the bad, the progress is great to hear and promising!
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 9/26/22
Thinking of all of you!! She is a fighter for sure… glad to hear things are improving- even though slow- improving is good!!! 💕

September 21, 2022

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September 21, 2022

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September 21, 2022

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September 21, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/21/22
Such an amazing experience for an amazing 7 yr. old who truly deserved this!

September 21, 2022

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September 21, 2022- BMT Day +8

We are over one week post transplant! We made it through most of the first week with minimal chemo and transplant side effects. She has really hung on to her neutrophils which I think has helped keep her energy up (we were told that her numbers would drop last week and they are definitely going down, but not as fast as we thought they would... not a bad thing!). However, this week has been much more challenging. It started with Joel having a stomach bug on Sunday which immediately got him kicked out of the hospital and he couldn't go back until yesterday. And then a couple of days ago, Ada's nausea really kicked in and her mucositis (sores that can go all the way from the mouth through the digestive tract) began. She is clearly in pain and there is a possibility that some of the vomiting may be due to the sores so we started her on morphine. It seemed to help a bit. After her first dose, she instantly started playing more and becoming more talkative. Its hard to give such a little person so much medicine, but I've realized that its more important to make her as comfortable as possible to get her through this! Hopefully just 2 more weeks or so of this. Once Oliver's cells engraft in Ada's bone marrow, her cell counts should start to increase and then she should start to feel quite a bit better. During the last few days I've noticed a slight decrease in energy, but not much! I full expected Ada to be in bed watching tv all day, but she still is out and about playing. Mostly because she is almost always hooked up to her IV, Ada has transitioned to low-key activities like play doh, drawing, arts & crafts, and ipad games. As long as she's happy, I am not going to complain about not having to chase her through the hospital!

As for Oliver, he said he "finally feels like himself again"! He has a lingering cough, but he is no longer sore. I don't remember if I wrote about this in previous posts, but we won Badger football tickets through a hospital raffle. Technically Ada won, but they let Oliver + 1 parent go instead. Joel and I flipped a coin for who got to accompany him and to Joel's disappointment, I won!! The game was last Saturday and it was an amazing experience!!! We headed downtown about 2 hrs before the game and found a big tailgate near Union South. I had made Oliver a sign that said "I just donated bone marrow to my sister" that I figured he'd like to hold up at the game. However, he insisted on hold it up the entire time. And I mean, while walking around Madison, at the tailgate, during, and after the game. I couldn't tell him no! So of course he got a million high fives and all the attention he could ask for. At the Badger Bash tailgate, the NBC sports guy (Jocko) invited Oliver on stage with Bucky. After that, everyone knew his name and people started to give him ice cream money! And then there was the game... our seats were in Bucky's Patio which is a fenced-off area directly next to the end zone. I couldn't believe it when they brought us there! There were only 3 other children's hospital patients (+ one parent each) and a few hospital employees. We got our own patio table about 5 feet from the field and then we got water, snacks, pom poms, noise makers and concession stand money. At half time we got to meet some track and field athletes. Oliver LOVED talking their ears off and even challenged them to a running race. To top it off, he got to meet Bucky, the cheerleaders, the UW chancellor and we were featured on the big screen. The Big 10 Network even filmed Oliver for a few seconds, but I don't think it actually made it to tv. It was a well-deserved experience for this little boy that so fearlessly underwent surgery last week for his sister!

https://youtube.com/shorts/619O-wyi9ug?feature=share

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Audrey Felker — 9/24/22
OH My!! What a updated post! We feel so sorry to hear what Ada is going through right now but we will be praying hard to God for better days ahead for her. And we hope Oliver will remember his special day last Saturday for the rest of his life. Love you guys!!
Angie Paulson — 9/23/22
We hope Ada and the family are doing well. At some point Ada will start to feel a little better every day. Remember every day is another step closer to Ada getting well. Sending prayers your way every night. Hugs
Catherine Kircos — 9/23/22
These kids are incredible! Hearing about Ada's mucositis reminded me that a supplement I take for unrelated GI issues called zinc l-carnosine is also shown to be highly effective for chemotherapy-induced mucositis https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/38/8/4691.short
Julie Leuthold — 9/23/22
What an uplifting story about Oliver. Sounds like a fighter just as always!
Lisa Schmitt — 9/22/22
That is an amazing story! Way to go, Oliver!
Laura Ditlevsen — 9/22/22
What an incredible way to recognize Oliver - this is amazing, and so is he!
Emily Townley — 9/21/22
I LOVED reading this! What an amazing experience at the Badger game and smart thinking with the sign! Oliver sooo deserved all the high fives and ice cream money (ha!) he got! Always thinking and praying for you guys :)
Brad Swenson — 9/21/22
He might be destined to be a Badger after that amazing experience.
Beth Didreckson — 9/21/22
Love hearing about the blessing the Lord gave Oliver after he so bravely blessed his sister. Praying 🙏
Vera Aiken — 9/21/22
That is awesome! Our brave Oliver sure deserves it!
Thoughts and prayers that Ada will get better by the day.
Sending love!
Ann Arango — 9/21/22
What a great idea to make Oliver that sign! He is such a great kid and deserves every bit of the attention he got Saturday. ❤️
Fern Swenson — 9/21/22
Such a nice post. Glad there is some fun involved. Also glad you and Oliver enjoyed the football game! It was a good game to see!
Aniek Janssen — 9/21/22
Hope Ada will soon start to feel better again. And what an awesome experience at the Badger game! Oliver and you deserve it. Big time!
Debbie McKenzie — 9/21/22
Ada is the most amazing person!! Backed by a wonderful family! You are all in our thoughts. AdaStrong!!
Chandra Brewer — 9/21/22
That is so phenomenal!! Oliver and Ada truly are my hero’s!

September 16, 2022

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September 16, 2022

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September 16, 2022

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September 16, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 9/16/22
Looks like fun Ada

September 15, 2022- BMT Day +2

We are already 2 days post-transplant! Tuesday was pretty rough for both Ada and Oliver. It took Oliver a bit to snap out of the anesthesia and it made him pretty nauseous. Ada received the stem cells around 3 pm. It was a pretty tense process with the transplant physician, residents and nurses standing by to keep an eye out for any allergic-type reactions. It started off really smooth. The transfusion only took about 1 hour. Near the end she started to get high blood pressure so she got 2 meds for that which then increased her heart rate. Fortunately her blood pressure normalized but then she got a low-grade fever. During all this, she was vomiting and pretty inconsolable. She ended up taking a good nap and once she woke up she was a new girl! By bed time Ada was pretty wiped out (as were we)! We decided to not give her feed through her ng tube through the night and I think it helped her recover a bit from all the excitement. Her fever went away pretty quickly and she slept pretty well at night. Since Tuesday, Ada has been doing great! She has had LOTS of energy, hasn't been nauseous and has been very playful. I'm sure there will be many more tough days until Oliver's cells engraft (about 2-3 weeks from now) so I'll take these high-energy days!

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Lisa Schmitt — 9/19/22
Many good wishes sent your way.
Jennifer Cotter — 9/16/22
We are always thinking of Ada and your whole family. Oliver is a superstar and your family is resilient. Lots of love ❤️
Gene Cecchettini — 9/16/22
Thinking of you all. Gene and Rae
Beth Didreckson — 9/16/22
Praying for this sweet little girl.
Fern Swenson — 9/16/22
Good news!
Lance Paulson — 9/16/22
It is almost incomprehensible how resilient little ones are. That blessing can provide some small measure of comfort to mom and dad. And while mom and dad will remember all of this, Ada will remember very little.
Nicholas Torres — 9/15/22
❤️
Kay aiken — 9/15/22
What a challenging time for all of you. Prayers for all of you!

September 13, 2022

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September 13, 2022

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September 13, 2022

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September 13, 2022- transplant day!

A quick update because I know many of you are wondering... The bone marrow harvest from Oliver went really well! There were no complications and they got lots of stem cells. He is now hanging out in his hospital room just a few doors down from Ada. He will be kept overnight just to keep an eye on his pain. He's still a bit out of it from the anesthesia and he said his butt hurts, but otherwise he's doing great! I'm sure he will be running down the hallway and digging through the freezer for ice cream in no time! Ada will receive the cells within the next hour or so and we expect that to be fairly anti-climatic. We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers!

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Erin Lynn — 9/15/22
Yay Oliver!! We’re so glad everything went well. Hugs to everyone 🤗
Mason and Erin
Fern Swenson — 9/15/22
Praying all goes well. Oliver is a remarkable big brother!
Lana Tidwell Dolan — 9/14/22
Tami, Joel & fam—sending my love to you all!
Tanya McDonnell — 9/14/22
So happy to hear it went well. Thinking of you all!
Monica Dull — 9/13/22
So glad to hear everything is going well. We will continue our prayers for all of you.
Jane Klimenko — 9/13/22
Way to go! ❤️
Cheryl Clark — 9/13/22
Swenson family strong!!!!
Rachel Carlson — 9/13/22
Go Team Swenson! We are so glad to hear that these next couple of steps are going smoothly. 💜
Sharon Clark — 9/13/22
Hallelujah!
Emily Townley — 9/13/22
Wonderful news!!
Nicholas Torres — 9/13/22
❤️
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 9/13/22
Yay!! Great update!!! Hoping the rest of the day goes good too!!!
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 9/13/22
Yay!! What an amazing day!!

September 12, 2022 - Oliver

Today is day -1, one day until the bone marrow transplant. Normally we write about Ada on here but we actually have 2 super heroes in our house! This post will be about Oliver!

Oliver has never loved needles or doctor's visits so we were nervous when taking him and Ellie for their initial blood draws to see if one of them would match Ada's HLA type. [A related, young donor is optimal to match with but there is roughly a 25% chance of a sibling being a donor so with two siblings Ada had a roughly 43% chance of one of them being a perfect match] Sure enough, he didn't love getting his blood drawn by he did it and was an "initial" match. He could still get disqualified with higher resolution testing, an infectious disease screen, etc so we were debating how and when to tell him as being the donor would mean many more blood draws, a hospital stay, and surgery.

One day at dinner we mentioned that the results from initial testing were back and do I told him it was looking good and he was a perfect match so far. He was so excited and happy, grinning from ear to ear. I still tear up thinking about it. He has worked hard to overcome his needle fears but has never once faltered in his desire to donate to her. He has also been very patient and understanding of us asking him to wear masks indoors, limiting indoor playdates, washing his hands extra, lots of doctors visits, etc.

He is very proud of his sister and that he is able to help! Over the summer he was at daycare and everyone had to go around and say who their hero was, he said Ada! On the first day of school he told everyone about Ada and that he was going to donate stem cells to her and asked what questions they had! I can't describe adequately with words all my emotions by will just say that we love him so much and are so proud that he wants to help his little sister even if it causes him some pain!

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Ann Arango — 9/13/22
Oliver is such an awesome big brother. Ada is so lucky to have him at her side. I’m positive those 2 superhero kids of yours learned how to tackle their fears by watching you and Tami fight through your own. Your family has been such an inspiration to everyone. We’re all holding you up today. ❤️
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Patti Spaid (Felker) — 9/13/22
Now we have 2 super heroes in the family. So proud of you Oliver. Sending prayers & hugs to everyone.
Tanya McDonnell — 9/13/22
Wow, what an amazing kid and brother!
Thinking of you and praying everything goes as well as can be expected.
Lori Michal — 9/13/22
What Amazing Super Heroes 💜💙they are!!!!
Positive thoughts, prayers and good vibes coming your way❤️
Sherri Knight — 9/13/22
Thinking of those super heroes today ❤️❤️ Sending positive vibes to your incredible family!
Brad Swenson — 9/13/22
A special bond they will share for ever. Go Oliver!
Robyn Czappa — 9/13/22
What a big heart he has! Sending good vibes to your family today!
Fern Swenson — 9/13/22
Yay Oliver!
Erika Ulinskaite — 9/13/22
Wishing endless strength to all of you!!!! Oliver is amazing brother 🫶🏻, and Ada is a fighter… Healing thoughts your way and best of luck today ❤️🙏🏻
Cheryl Clark — 9/13/22
Oliver is definitely a courageous super hero! We are so proud of our grandson and we love you so much❤❤❤❤
Sharon Clark — 9/13/22
Thinking of all of you and sending hugs❤️
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 9/13/22
Way to go Oliver! You are a super hero!!!
Aniek Janssen — 9/13/22
Beautiful ❤️
Sara Berndt — 9/12/22
Such a brave boy! Thinking of you all. ❤️
Stephanie Valkovic — 9/12/22
What an incredible big brother and amazing gift he is giving to Ada- sending so many positive thoughts your guys’ way tomorrow!
Julie Leuthold — 9/12/22
Yippy ya ye for Oliver! Super Hero!! Ada will always let him pick the best favorite cookie first.
Penny Agar — 9/12/22
Lots of prayers and sending positive energy your way Oliver and Ada. You are all super heros!
Cathy McCorkell — 9/12/22
What an amazing young boy you are raising. We are praying for all of you and praying that it is a successful transplant. 🙏Cathy & George
Alicia Swenson — 9/12/22
Aww, this made me tear up! I can totally relate to the fear of needles. The sibling love is so amazing. Thinking of you guys, especially tomorrow! Hope everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Laura Thurgood — 9/12/22
He is such a cool, sweet kid! Thinking of all of you this week 💕💕
Janine Zabel — 9/12/22
What a brave young man. 🙌 Yeah, Oliver!🙌 Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers. 🙏
Laura McCorkell — 9/12/22
This brought tears to my eyes. Such a sweet love for his sister..and such a hero. Praying for and thinking about all of you ❤️
Shannon Gibbons — 9/12/22
Oliver the life saver and superhero!!! How truly brave you are…❤️
Kay aiken — 9/12/22
Oliver is amazing (in so many ways) and you and Tami have done such a great job supporting and teaching your kids about very difficult things. Your family is full of heroes! We love you all.
Angie Paulson — 9/12/22
Oliver, you are truly a superhero!! We are thinking of your family nonstop ❤️ 🙏
Molly Murgatroyd — 9/12/22
Such an amazing kid and an amazingly selfless thing he’s doing. So proud of Ada and Oliver (and you two)!
Lance Paulson — 9/12/22
What an amazing little man. And what a blessing to have such a beautiful bond between Ada and Oliver.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/12/22
He is a very special, loving and brave little boy! We are very proud of him! Our super hero grandson!🥰
Emily Karch — 9/12/22
This update just brought tears to my eyes. Oliver is an amazing big brother. Good luck to all!
Deb Berndt — 9/12/22
We are all so proud of Oliver. They will always have a special bond

September 11, 2022

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September 11, 2022

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September 11, 2022

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September 11, 2022- BMT Day -2

BMT days are numbered based on the day of the transplant (Sept. 13) so today is Day -2... transplant day will be Day 0. Ada is done with her conditioning chemo! It included two fairly intense drugs that are needed to wipe out her bone marrow so that Oliver's bone marrow stem cells can be transplanted successfully. But this is really only just the beginning of the BMT process. Now we will start to see chemo side effects and then after the transplant, we have to be on the lookout for graft vs. host disease (which can present itself in many different way with the most common being a simple rash). Its not necessarily bad as this will just be a way to tell that Oliver's cells are working in Ada's body and saying "this isn't Oliver's body!". Ada will be on immunosuppressants for a while to limit the amount of graft vs host and we will eventually wean her from those drugs.

Ada had a great first few days. Now we are starting to see the effects of chemo (nausea and fatigue). Last night her ng (feeding) tube came out when she got sick so she had to get it replaced this morning. Fun. She is still such an incredible little person! Between bouts of vomiting, she will get up and play and resume normal life as best as she can. She continues to keep busy with arts and crafts (she LOVES painting as you can see), bike bowling, playing with sticky balls, mini golf in the hallway, etc. She even got to video chat with some Wisconsin Badger football players on Friday (not sure who they were...Marty and Riley I think??). Apparently now that school has started every Friday is "Badger Friday" where we get to chat with some athletes and we get some Bucky gear. She got a cute Bucky puzzle and all our kids got a shirt!

We are hoping that a change in her medicine routine will help with the nausea, but we will just have to wait and see! Oliver is VERY excited about the transplant on Tuesday. He already packed his hospital bag and just smiles every time we talk about it!
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Lori Michal — 9/12/22
Thought’s and prayers coming your way!!!
Ada💜Oliver💙and your entire family💞
Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/12/22
Be strong, Be brave, Be fearless! Remember you are not alone and we love you all!❤️
Julie Leuthold — 9/12/22
What a trooper Ada is. You all are! So sweet that Oliver has his bags packed ready to help his baby sister.
Hugs and prayers to your families
Angie Paulson — 9/12/22
How sweet of Oliver ❤️What little champs you have!!! You all continue to be in our prayers.
Cheryl Clark — 9/11/22
Oliver is such an amazing brave big brother and Ada s such a strong resilient girl! With lots of love ❤️ and prayers 🙏 we will get through this!
Audrey Felker — 9/11/22
Hang in there Tami and Joel!! There are better days ahead for all of you.
Stephanie Valkovic — 9/11/22
Oliver is such a sweet big brother and Ada is such a champ! Sending our love and well wishes to your whole family during this especially big week ahead. Tami and Joel you are incredible parents and your positive attitude is inspirational!
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 9/11/22
She is such a trooper and inspiration!! 💕
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 9/11/22
Thinking of you all every minute of the day. Hugs
Nicholas Torres — 9/11/22
❤️
Janine Zabel — 9/11/22
Keeping you all in our thoughts and prayers.🙏💕🙏Sending positive vibes for a successful transplant and a speedy recovery for both Oliver &
Ada. 🙏💕🙏
The Michal Family
September 8, 2022
Thinking and praying for all of you during this journey you are all going through together as a family. May the love, support and prayers, from family and friends, help you through.

September 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/11/22
Happy girl!
Cheryl Clark — 9/8/22
What a great smile!

September 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/11/22
Thank you AFCH for taking such great care of our super Hero!

September 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/11/22
Sisterly ❤️

September 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/11/22
She's quite the fisher girl!

September 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/11/22
Love this❤️

September 7, 2022- Start of the BMT (Day -6)

Yesterday was, what we hope to be, the start to our last long hospital admission. We arrived in the afternoon to a very fun decorated room! Ada had requested that her room be decorated with Toy Story, Disney, Paw Patrol, and christmas... and that is what she got! She has a christmas pillow, mickey pillow, Buzz Lightyear stuffie, Minnie mouse light, characters lining the walls, and a huge stack of toys. They sure know how to take care of us here! And this is why she loves this place! During this admission she has to stay either in her room or in the small hallway just outside her room (to keep her exposure to germs at a minimum). I was dreading it since she loves to roam the hospital. However, after the first day I am feeling less concerned. She was very busy with 4k lessons (she started 4k with the hospital teacher, Val), Childlife, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. She also began her chemo treatment at 6 am this morning. I think its safe to say that she will be kept occupied! She has just 4 days of chemo and then 2 days of rest. Next week Tuesday will be the transplant. It will be very anti-climatic for her as they will just put Oliver's bone marrow stem cells into Ada's central line just like any normal iv infusion. The tough part will be when we start to see the side effects of the chemo, which is expected to start next week and last roughly 2 weeks. This will likely include nausea, fatigue, diarrhea, and mouth sores. She may sail through this with no complaints, but I am going into this with low expectations so that I am mentally ready (as much as I can be). Then hopefully ~10-14 days after the transplant, Oliver's cells will start to engraft (take up residence and "grow") in Ada's bone marrow and her immune system and red blood cells will start to increase. This is when the symptoms will get better and she will start to feel better. Once she doesn't need frequent blood and platelet transfusions and is overall doing better, we get to start thinking about going home (4-6 weeks overall).

Oliver's procedure is a bit more involved, but obviously shorter. He will go into the surgery room bright and early on Tuesday and go under general anesthesia. The marrow is harvested from the backside of his hips (both sides) over the course of roughly 30 minutes. That's it! The cells are processed and then given to Ada within a couple of hours. He will stay at the hospital the rest of the day and overnight just to be monitored for pain and blood levels. It sounds like it shouldn't need anything more than Tylenol and ice ream. 

It will be a long month or so, but we are taking it one day at a time. Again, Ada's endless energy and happiness keeps us all smiling. Thanks again for everyone's support through all of this!!

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Barb Mullen — 9/10/22
Sending lots of positive energy and strength your way. You are all so amazing. Thank you for your updates. Prayers.
Tanya McDonnell — 9/9/22
Wayne and I wish you all the best!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 9/9/22
Praying for healing and the strength to keep fighting! You are an inspiration to SO many. You are so strong and BRAVE! We love you sweetheart!❤️
Shannon Gibbons — 9/8/22
Sending oodles of love and prayers! ❤️🙏❤️🙏❤️🙏
Sue Sullivan — 9/8/22
You are all so strong I keep praying that this will all be over and behind you soon🙏🙏🙏
Bill Hinton — 9/8/22
My thoughts and prayers are with Ada, Oliver and the entire family.
Sharon Clark — 9/8/22
Sending prayers, good luck wishes and hugs❤️
Sharon
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 9/8/22
Sending hugs, positive vibes,kisses & lots of prayers. Stay strong. You've got alot of support behind you. Love to you all!
Vera Aiken — 9/8/22
Keep strong Ada, Ollie and family! You will be in our thoughts and prayers
Julie Leuthold — 9/8/22
Tami, it does sound like a long stressful month. Your whole families additude is inspiring. Ada is amazing. I love hearing how attentive and caring the hospital has been.
Thank you for keeping us updated. I think of you so often and keep my prayers and hugs coming your way.
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Janine Zabel — 9/8/22
Sending love, prayers and positive vibes to you all! ❤️🙏❤️
Cheryl Clark — 9/8/22
We will get through this...Ada strong❣❣❣
Nicholas Torres — 9/8/22
❤️
Linda Swenson — 9/7/22
Continue prayers for Ada, Oliver and Ellie too. You two are the best parents and have handle this so well. Wonderful Grandparents helping the whole way through. Ada is so amazing as well. Hoping this new normal ends soon and you can enjoy your beautiful family without all the worries you have endured since May. Love y’all 🙏🏻😘
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Kay aiken — 9/7/22
Those decorations are so sweet. We will be thinking of you all during these next few weeks. You all are so awesome!
Lance Paulson — 9/7/22
To think of 4-6 weeks…it can seem daunting. But you will be so totally immersed in caring for Ada and, on the home front, Oliver and the baby, that time may pass more quickly than you might think. I remember thinking at the end of every day, another day down and another day closer to going home. We are praying for Ada and your whole family.
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Jane Klimenko — 9/7/22
Fingers crossed and thinking of you in California ❤️
Amanda Reed — 9/7/22
Go Ada and Oliver—you have got this!! Tammy-Love the shirt you designed. 🧡
Monica Dull — 9/7/22
So glad to hear Ada is happy and moving in the right direction. Such a blessing that Oliver was a match for Ada. Your family will come out of this stronger than ever before!

September 1, 2022

See August 22nd post for more details but I wanted to quickly post a link to fun videos of Ada dancing to fireworks! https://photos.app.goo.gl/xRrLrVEAHo8jeeSp6

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August 29, 2022

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August 29, 2022

Emily Karch — 8/29/22
🥰

August 29, 2022

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August 29, 2022

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August 29, 2022

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August 29, 2022

Another uneventful update! We have about one week left before Ada has to go back to the hospital- she goes back Tuesday Sept. 6. She is very much looking forward to it. We are not! However, again, we can't wait to get this over with and have her back home for good. This hospital stay will be pretty intense and long (about 4-6 weeks). She continues to keep us very busy at home and you can tell that she just feels much better (compared to the spring/ early summer). We got the results back from her recent bone marrow biopsy and she remains CANCER FREE!!! We just want to keep her that way (with the bone marrow transplant). Oliver had his transplant work-up done last week which involved a very long psych evaluation (which is apparently legally required of anyone donating for a transplant), a physical evaluation, a tour of where he will spend the night (hopefully next to Ada) and the operating floor, and a blood draw. He LOVED his day-long appointments (except for the needle part)! It was very sweet. He enjoyed spending the whole day with us, seeing where Ada has spent her summer, and getting to ask the nurses and doctors tons of questions! Since Ellie has been missing out on all of the medical fun, she decided to get ear tubes put in this Wednesday morning. Compared to everything else, I am not worried about this at all. I am looking forward to her hopefully having fewer ear infections and at the very least, not needing as many antibiotics! After Ellie's surgery, Ada will have her pre-transplant work-up on Wednesday afternoon which should be pretty uneventful. Oliver then starts school on Thursday and will attend Thursday and Friday. We are going to keep him home all next week to make sure he stays healthy enough to do the transplant on Sept. 13. I'm sure he'll love the extra days at home! Other than that, we are just going to make the best of our last week until we're back at the hospital.

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Patti Spaid (Felker) — 8/31/22
Such great news! Sending all my love to everyone.
Audrey Felker — 8/30/22
So glad to hear the good news about Ada! And Ellie will do fine also. You all have some interesting weeks ahead but it will be worth it in the end. Wish we could be there to help!!
Audrey Felker — 8/30/22
So glad t
Aniek Janssen — 8/30/22
Amazing news about Ada being cancer-free!! Wishing you much strength for all the upcoming events. Love, Coen & Aniek
Sharon Clark — 8/29/22
Thinking of you, Joel, Tami and the kids. And, of course the grandparents too! Waiting to hear wonderful news after the transplant and also about little Ellie’s ear tube surgery. Hugs to all❤️🙏
Kay aiken — 8/29/22
Enjoy your week!!
Lance Paulson — 8/29/22
When Samuel was in treatment, he and Maxfield enjoyed that splashpad too! Great job living life to the fullest. The boys include Ada and your whole family in our bedtime prayers.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/29/22
Thank you Lance!
Vera Aiken — 8/29/22
Great to hear things are going well! Jasmin also had the ear tubes placed and it was day and night difference with infections! I am sure it will be for Ellie too. The ENT team there is really good.
I am glad Ada is cancer free and sending all my positive energy to her path to cure!
We love you all!
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Bilin Tsai And Don Poe
August 23, 2022
Dear sweet, strong, fun-loving Ada, You are amazing and we send love and best wishes as you continue on the road to good health. Give our hugs to your Mom and Dad, and big brother. Your friends, Bilin and Don

August 23, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 8/23/22
Chocolate ice cream looks yummy 😋

August 23, 2022

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August 22, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/23/22
Wow. That's a big bubble!

August 22, 2022

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August 22, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/23/22
Love your new bike!❤️

August 22, 2022

Holly Ertmer — 8/29/22
love this photo!

August 22, 2022

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August 22, 2022- Summer Fun!

Ada has been home from the hospital for almost 2 weeks and we have jammed in a lot! We are thrilled that she will be here for another 2+ weeks yet (tentative admission date for the bone marrow transplant is Sept. 8). Our days have been filled with doctors appointments, bike rides, water play, playground fun, playing with massive bubbles, swinging (on our cool new swing in the basement!) and playdates. Ada and Oliver even set up a tomato and bakery stand that Oliver insists on operating on a daily basis. He has managed to sell ALL of our veggies from our garden (cucumbers and cherry tomatoes), cookies and puppy chow. He has generously decided to donate all the money to childhood cancer research! Another highlight from this past week was Waunaboom. Waunakee had canceled their 4th of July fireworks since the weather was pretty bad and it was rescheduled for Aug. 20. It worked out perfect for us because we got to take Oliver and Ada. This was Ada's first big fireworks show. We kind of assumed that she would be terrified and that we would end up leaving early, but we couldn't be more wrong. The instant the fireworks started she jumped off the blanket and started dancing around with her glow sticks. She didn't sit down the entire show. She was just dancing and giggling nonstop! Eventually Oliver joined her. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect 4th of July re-do!

In other news, Ada had her bone marrow biopsy last week and it went well. It was a long visit, but she got her biopsy, lumbar puncture (sample of the spinal fluid), ng feeding tube changed, EKG, and central line dressing changed. Lots of fun stuff! During the biopsy, she gets sedated and during the first few times she got pretty sick while she woke from it. We've been trying to figure out ways to avoid it by treating her with different kinds of anti-nausea meds and I think we've finally figured it out by giving her benadryl as soon as we stop the sedation meds. This also has the added benefit of eliciting a nice long nap. She slept for ~3 hrs post-sedation and the only way to wake her up was to wave a bag of chips in front of her. She instantly grabbed the bag and ate it all! I think we finally also found something she likes to eat!

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Audrey Felker — 8/28/22
OH! How we are enjoying these messages and pictures. Ada looks so happy and that makes us happy. Keep the messages and pictures coming even though we get almost a daily report from your mom.
Julie Leuthold — 8/23/22
You all have such an amazing additude. This reminds me to never take one moment for granted. Keeping you all in my loving thoughts. Love the pictures! The garden sounds wonderful. PRECIOUS FAMILY TIME
Kathryn Sederberg — 8/23/22
Love the updates and the photos! What a cool kid.
Vera Aiken — 8/22/22
Lovely little Ada! So nice to read updates from her! She is a bright little girl! We love you Ada
Sharon Clark — 8/22/22
So happy to hear encouraging news...and, did I tell you that my adastrong tee is great🎗🙏❤️
Tami Swenson — 8/22/22
Yes, so glad you got one!
Cari Felker — 8/22/22
So happy for the entire family. Please keep sharing💕
Kay aiken — 8/22/22
Amazing Ada...and family. Love you all.
Nicholas Torres — 8/22/22
❤️
Gene Cecchettini — 8/22/22
It's wonderful that Ada and the entire family is enjoying her time at home so much. Thinking of all of you.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/22/22
Ada is a very strong, determined, energetic, happy and a very courageous little girl! Glad she is having so much fun during her break from the hospital!
Lance Paulson — 8/22/22
Go Ada! Mom, Dad, Oliver and Ellie are doing so great!

August 10, 2022

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August 10, 2022

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August 10, 2022

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August 10, 2022

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August 10, 2022 - Home!

Ada got to come home today! We are very excited to have her here and she will be home until early September. It seems much easier for her to adjust so far this time. Thanks as always for everyone's continued support!

Stephanie Valkovic — 8/20/22
So glad you are home together for the rest of the month- thinking of you all!
Laura McCorkell — 8/15/22
Awesome news! So happy she gets to be home for a few weeks! And love seeing the smiles on her face!
Aniek Janssen — 8/11/22
Great news! enjoy this time together at home. 😘
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 8/11/22
Great news! Now enjoy your family time
Angie Paulson — 8/10/22
Wonderful!!! So happy to hear!
Julie Leuthold — 8/10/22
😊 HaPpY DaNcE 💃
Enjoy your special family and friends time! Thinking of you all.
Julie
Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/10/22
Glad our sweetheart is home for awhile 😘
Laura Thurgood — 8/10/22
Looks like she's having such a blast!! 💖💖

August 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/8/22
Watch out Santa!

August 8, 2022

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August 8, 2022

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August 8, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/8/22
Beautiful!

August 8, 2022

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August 8, 2022- more waiting

Today was a good day. Ada woke up full of energy and ready to take on the day before 7 am! She immediately ran out in the hallway and started using her creepy hand grabber (see pic) to poke and pull at the nurses and say good morning while I disappeared and tried to caffeinate as much as I could. Her neutrophils started to increase (to 50) yesterday so I was hoping that she'd be home within a few days. However, today we are still only at 30. This is pretty typical though. These counts are known to tease you and just bob up and down for a few days as they ultimately increase. It doesn't matter to Ada. She kept very busy today by doing some Santa bowling, syringe painting, pouring water into cups in our hospital sink, exploring the healing gardens (again), biking around the hospital like a crazy child and painting rocks to hide in the garden. She was so busy that she just fell asleep for a nap... she will need it because she is getting a CT scan tonight at 8 and I have no idea how she'll handle it. It is pretty quick, but somehow we need her to sit still for the 15 minute scan and I am hoping to do it without sedation. This is all part of the work-up that she needs before her bone marrow transplant just to be sure her organs and everything is in good working condition before it.
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Gene Cecchettini — 8/10/22
Our love and caring to you all!
Neil Swenson — 8/9/22
I want to have syringe water fights with Ada!
Sue Sullivan — 8/9/22
If only she could give you some of that energy but glad she is taking this so well. Makes it just a little Bit easier on everyone 🙏🙏🙏
Lance Paulson — 8/9/22
Go Ada! You are doing so great. Mom and Dad are doing amazing too!
Kay aiken — 8/8/22
Wow! What a day! Hoping she can be home soon. Love you all!
Luthien Niland — 8/8/22
You are a powerhouse Tami! So so much all in one day ❤️
Rachel Carlson — 8/8/22
We love that she is using the "creepy" (ha!) hand grabber! We thought she might put it to good use. :) Sending love your way.
Emily Karch — 8/9/22
I love it! That toy is definitely screams Ada. ❤️

August 5, 2022

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August 5, 2022

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August 5, 2022

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August 5, 2022

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August 5, 2022

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August 5, 2022- Ada shirts

Several people have asked about the "Ada shirts" that I made. Since my cricut and I couldn't keep up with demand, I created an online store where people can order the shirts in different colors and styles:

https://www.bonfire.com/adas-shirt-store/

I realize the shirts are a little pricey, but all of the profits that go to us will be donated to the American Family Children's Hospital cancer research (uwhealth.org/fightkidscancer). The care here has been incredible, but I continue to be shocked by the "old school" broad chemo drugs that are still being used to treat cancer. There are many very promising new targeted therapies on the horizon and I want to do as much as I can to support this research and development. Luckily childhood cancer is rare, but that also means that funding for research for such a rare disease is hard to come by especially compared to more common cancers and diseases.

Others have also asked how they can continue to support us. We have really appreciated how everyone has already helped us. Especially with food!  So as a reminder, we have a meal train that my sister set up and it can be found under the "Ways to Help" tab on top. I anticipate that September and October will be a bit rough for us as we go through the bone marrow transplant process. I hope to return to some normalcy in November and maybe I can learn (and get the motivation) to cook again!

Finally, a quick update. Ada continues to do really well! We are on about Day 10 of the nadir (low cell counts). I am hoping that any day now we will start to see neutrophils go up and then we can go home once they're above 200 or so. Once they start to increase that only takes another day or two to get to that point. She has had 2 platelet and 1 blood transfusion so far. Her energy continues! She is biking, running, playing school, playing with her babies and stuffies, and throwing sticky balls at the ceiling (best Target purchase ever!). Somehow we haven't really run out of stuff to do here. But I am very much looking forward to us all being together at home again soon!

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Amanda Reed — 8/6/22
Go ada! Just ordered kinley and my shirt! Love the design.
Nicole Burm — 8/5/22
Love the shirts! Cannot wait to wear it! ❤️
Hugs!
Cheryl Clark — 8/5/22
Tami and Joel, you are strong and amazing parents!! With Ada's continued positive and resilient attitude we will get through this dreadful disease!! Stay positive ❣Mom and Dad Clark

July 30, 2022

Ann Arango — 7/30/22
Looks like Santa’s getting some biking in before the big cookie eating season! Thanks, Ada!

July 30, 2022

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July 30, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/30/22
Oh, I hope Santa is feeling Ok!

July 30, 2022

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July 30, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/4/22
Hope Santa is getting in shape!

July 30, 2022 - Christmas in July

The weekends can be a challenge to keep our energetic, curious daughter occupied as she doesn't have OT, PT, or child life (group of people that play with her and help with her social and emotional development) but we (largely Ada's goofy ideas that we indulge) manage to come up with a few fun things! My brother and his family sent Ada a giant sea shell and Tami's aunt sent a small Santa (see the pictures). We also built a castle, turned the lights off and played with shadows on the wall! We are anxious for her cell counts to go up before we all go too stir crazy! We are hoping she'll get to go home in a week or two, and then she will likely be home until after Labor Day! That is around when the bone marrow transplant likely will take place.

 

Thanks again for everyone's continued support!

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Jana Montgomery — 8/1/22
This is such wonderful news!! So glad to hear Ada is still so strong and being herself despite all of this.
Vera Aiken — 7/31/22
She is so creative! Praying that cell counts will go up and that she can be home with you. Love seeing her pictures. Thanks for sending
Julie Leuthold — 7/30/22
These pictures are so sweet. Little girls aren't supposed to be going through things like this. Bless her heart. ❤️
Cari Felker — 7/30/22
I am so happy Santa could come stay at the hospital with her. The pictures are so precious. Can’t wait to see all the adventures they are going to have😂

July 29, 2022

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July 29, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 8/4/22
Crazy girl with a shell on her head!
Cheryl Clark — 7/29/22
Silly girl!!

July 29, 2022

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July 29, 2022

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July 28, 2022

Ada finished her treatments during this round with flying colors! She got her last chemo on Saturday morning and up until then she was full of energy and acting pretty "normal". Nights have been a bit rough only because her energy is endless. However, she has been a bit nauseous and little slower the last few days as her cell counts have started to go down (as expected). She has reached the nadir stage where her neutrophils will be zero for about a week or 2. Again, we will just wait around and keep an eye on any infections and then anxiously await her counts to go back up. At that point we should be able to go home one more time before the much anticipated bone marrow transplant (BMT). If everything goes as expected during August, we're looking at the first week of September for the BMT. As a side note, Ellie just got a double ear infection (again) and that means she should get tubes. She goes to an ENT doctor at the end of August which means she may get tubes sometime in September. Maybe all kids will be hospitalized at the same time! Never a dull moment with our family. The BMT process is about 4-6 weeks so that will bring us to October. We really can't wait for all of this to be over and for Ada to get to the point. However, I'm getting pretty nervous because obviously a BMT is a pretty big process and the drugs that are used during the first week to "condition" the bone marrow are pretty old, nonspecific and therefore toxic. Sometimes I hate being a toxicologist. I've really had to hold back from reading too much into every drug that they give her. It turns me into a nervous wreck! We just have to keep our faith in Ada and her amazing resilience. It is a tremendous relief that Oliver is considered a perfect bone marrow match. That doesn't rule out any complications that could arise after the transplant, but it certainly helps.

Ada has been busy passing the time here by playing school, putting on concerts for all of her friends (ie. bed full of stuffies), throwing balls at nurses, biking all over the UW hospital campus, shopping at the bookstore (I think we've spent more here than our hospital copay), and making lots and lots of slime! As always, thanks to everyone for all the encouragement and support! We certainly couldn't do it without you.

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Cari Felker — 7/29/22
No one will ever truly understand the journey your on. But we are all with you in our thoughts and prayers. Thank you for the updates.
Sue Sullivan — 7/29/22
🙏🙏🙏
Rachel Carlson — 7/29/22
It sounds like Ada continues to do great! We are here for you. Stay strong. Sending lots of love.
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 7/29/22
Thanks for the update. You're all amazing. Ada has really shown us how to be strong & courageous. I think of you everyday & praying.
Keep Ada strong!
Neil Swenson — 7/29/22
Ada and her family are all amazing. Way to go team Ada!
Cheryl Clark — 7/29/22
Ada girl has shown us in so many ways to stay strong and fight ,fight, fight!!
Aniek Janssen — 7/29/22
Sending you much strength and love ❤️ 🍀
Linda Swenson — 7/28/22
Prayers for y’all. Ada is an amazing little girl 🥰. Keep up the good work and great reports on her progress 😘
Julie Leuthold — 7/28/22
Oh Lordy Tammy,
Looks like you're spending the summer at 6 Flags Great America and doing the Monster Rollercoaster.
All will be well. Sending you love and hugs. You're all amazing
Ron Felker — 7/28/22
Ada is an amazing little girl with amazing parents! Stay strong! We are thinking of you all and praying for you daily. ❤️
Lance Paulson — 7/28/22
Great news. So glad to hear of Ada’s resilience and her excellent activity level! Don’t you find it amazing how much strength, courage and hope Mom and Dad derive from little Ada herself?
God is good.
Kay aiken — 7/28/22
Thanks for the update. So impressed with how you all are handling this! #Ada(and her family)strong.

Love you all!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/28/22
We love you all and are here for you…we will get through this together!❤️ Stay strong!

July 20, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/20/22
Wow, AWESOME!

July 20, 2022

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July 20, 2022

Emily Karch — 7/20/22
Great shirt!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/20/22
Oliver is so excited and proud he can help his sister by being her BMT donor! And we are so proud of him! What a tremendous gift he is giving Ada!❤️

July 20, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/20/22
Ada sure loves her baby sister!❤️ They had such fun together!

July 20, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/20/22
Such a goof!

July 20, 2022 - Good News!!

We got the "main results" mentioned in the previous post. These results (minimum/measurable residual disease; MRD) use flow cytometry (MRD can be other things) to count the number of cancerous cells found in her bone marrow. They couldn't find any, 0 cancer cells detected, 0% MRD! This is great news and this along with Oliver being a perfect match for bone marrow donation gives us a reasonable path to a potential cure. MRD is measured after every round and was higher after the first round than they would have liked so there was a concern that a fraction of her cancer was chemo-resistant. That doesn't seem to be the case. They are still doing another follow-up test (FISH for the biologists following along; interesting aside that during my PhD I've personally performed and analyzed many of the tests they've done) but it's unlikely to change the results.

 

This has been a very hard and emotional week for us. It was hard to send Ada back to the hospital for more chemo when she was having so much fun with friends and family at home as well as acting "healthy". The saving grace here is that the staff is so amazing that Ada was excited to go back! As Tami mentioned last post, this round of chemo is shorter but more intense and she is confined quite a bit more. Additionally, we had been waiting on pins and needles for her MRD so we were thrilled when we got the results we did. 

 

We continue to be amazed and grateful for all the support we've gotten from friends, coworkers, and family (especially grandparents!). The supportive messages (they mean a lot), random gifts, folks (including daycare) giving Oliver and Ellie extra attention, neighbors cutting our grass, support and understanding from my employer (Evidation Health has been amazing!), the continued delivery of food through meal train  (we are astounded that this has continued, it's been sooo helpful), etc are so appreciated. Thank you all near and far!

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Jane Klimenko — 7/26/22
So happy to see this update, that's great news indeed!
Emily Townley — 7/25/22
Praying and thinking about your sweet family! Ada is a fighter ❤️
Jason Anderson — 7/25/22
YES!!! Fantastic news!
Terri Turner — 7/24/22
Oliver's rocket out of the Pringles container reminded me of my time spent at Inspire with him in my classroom! He is SO talented and sweet. So glad things are going well. Supportive family/friends/coworkers and wonderful hospital staff are the biggest blessings throughout all of this. So interesting that as scientists, you understand much of the jargon they speak while the rest of us struggle lol. My husband is a scientist, too, and always asked the best questions as I'm sure you both do, too. Great job, parents! Great attitudes. You have a remarkable family!=)
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Kathryn Sederberg — 7/21/22
So happy to read this good news!
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 7/20/22
Great news! Keep fighting strong super Ada
Janine Zabel — 7/20/22
Wonderful news! 🙏🙏
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/20/22
Such great news! Stay strong and keep fighting sweetheart! Mayme and Papa S. love you❤️
Marisa Reyes — 7/20/22
Great news! Stay strong!
Beth Didreckson — 7/20/22
Praise God. Praying 🙏🙏🙏
Jennifer Cotter — 7/20/22
That’s amazing! So happy ❤️
Nicole Burm — 7/20/22
Great news!!! Hugs ❤️
Sue Sullivan — 7/20/22
So glad to hear your news .will continue to pray hard. Stay strong🙏🙏🙏
Shelby Shefter — 7/20/22
What wonderful news! So happy that there is some good news. I continue to think about you all and follow Ada's amazing courage
Shannon Gibbons — 7/20/22
What incredible news!!! So happy to hear this! 🙏❤️🙏
Cheryl Clark — 7/20/22
Keep fighting Ada girl!!!💖💖💖
Kay aiken — 7/20/22
Great news! Sending you our love!!!
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 7/20/22
Awesome news!!!!
Cathy McCorkell — 7/20/22
We continue to pray for your precious Ada.
Aniek Janssen — 7/20/22
Yes, great news!! ❤️🍀
Jae Min — 7/20/22
Great news! Ada continues to be amazing in so many ways!
Alicia Swenson — 7/20/22
Happy to hear some good news!! Thinking of you all!
Laura McCorkell — 7/20/22
Awesome news! So happy to hear this! Praying for y’all!
Fern Swenson — 7/20/22
Wonderful news! So happy for all of you. Love you all!
Chandra Brewer — 7/20/22
Fantastic news. My thoughts are with you Ada and family!
Sharon Clark — 7/20/22
So happy for some good news. Prayers continue for your ENTIRE family. Sending hugs ❤️
Sharon
Ann Arango — 7/20/22
Wow! Awesome news! So happy for you.
Holly Ertmer — 7/20/22
Great News!!! continued prayers and love from the Ertmers
Lisa Schmitt — 7/20/22
Such good news!! Great to hear!! The science is fascinating. Thoughts and prayers continue to come your way.
Robyn Czappa — 7/20/22
What great news! I love all the pictures. Thinking of Ada and the rest of you always!
stacey barmore — 7/20/22
That is wonderful news!! Hugs to you all.💕

July 19, 2022- Round 3

We are still waiting the main results from last week's biopsy, but from what we've seen so far it's encouraging. I'm trying not to overthink it until we have the actual results. Ada was readmitted as planned yesterday to start round 3. This time it's a high dose version of the chemo she has gotten before in addition to a new chemo drug. Fortunately it's only for 5 days (followed by the usual game of waiting for her numbers to drop and come back up... Probably a total of 4 weeks or so). It's a bit tougher than before not only because it's 10x the dose, but she also has to get eye drops every 6 hours to prevent inflammation (caused by high dose cytarabine) and the chemo infusion takes about 3 hours every 12 hours! Try getting a 4 year old to not get tangled up in all the IV tubes for that long! It's been less than 1 day and I'm exhausted. She continues to have endless energy and just wanted to party with the nurses all night. I guess that's a good thing :)
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Aniek Janssen — 7/20/22
Amazing to read about Ada and her endless energy. Thinking of you and sending much love your way, big hugs Coen & Aniek
Julie Leuthold — 7/19/22
Bless your hearts.
Hugs
Lance Paulson — 7/19/22
We’re praying for Ada and your whole family. God is with you.
Rachel Carlson — 7/19/22
You all are super heroes in my mind! Sending lots of love.
Nicole Burm — 7/19/22
Hugs! Fingers crossed that her spirit continues to be high! You’re in our thoughts as we all await the biopsy results! ❤️
Shannon Gibbons — 7/19/22
Prayers, thoughts and good vibes coming your way to all of you. The resilience of both Ada and your family is amazing. Ada ‘s energy and spirit is inspiring. She is one tremendously brave little girl. ❤️
Terri Turner — 7/19/22
Hang in there. What a blessing she’s in good spirits. I remember all too well the frustration of tangled tubes and trying to keep up with your little one while they get their meds and play. You guys are doing sooooo great and are the BEST parents for sweet Ada.❤️👏🏼😁
Audrey Felker — 7/19/22
What can we say about our little Ada!! She is a strong and happy person which will get her through this. Wish we could be there to help you guys Tami and Joel. But alot of prayers are sent to you!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/19/22
Ada, you are an amazing little girl. Your sillines, strength and love for life will get you through this difficult time. We know your doctors and nurses are taking very good care of you.....everyone loves the "little girl on the bike"! Mayme and Papa love you sweetheart ❤️❤️❤️❤️
don carlson — 7/19/22
Ada is amazingly energized and in good spirits through all of this.
Matt Valkovic — 7/19/22
Sending love from California! We’re always thinking about you all. Keep on partying Ada!
Kay aiken — 7/19/22
Day by day, minute by minute....we love you and are thinking of you all.
Cheryl Clark — 7/19/22
Keep partying with the nurses Ada, they all love your silly personality and we all love and are so amazed at how well you are handling this situation. Keep up your energy and silliness my sweet Ada, Mayme and Papa Clark are sending you lots of love and hugs❣
Janine Zabel — 7/19/22
Thinking of you all!💕
Neil Swenson — 7/19/22
Party on Ada!
Sue Sullivan
July 19, 2022
Sending Blessings. Better days are coming

July 13, 2022

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July 13, 2022

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July 13, 2022

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July 13, 2022

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July 13, 2022- Bone Marrow Biopsy #3

Today's bone marrow biopsy and lumbar puncture went well! It is always a hard day for us as its heartbreaking to see our little Ada sedated and the results from the biopsy tell us if her cancer is chemo-responsive. It seems they got a good bone marrow sample this time so we should have a good idea how her cancer responded to the chemo treatments (hopefully within a couple of days). Last time (over a month ago), the sample was too dilute to run some of the tests on it so it was pretty disappointing to go through all of that and not get so important info out of it. We will be extremely anxious over the next few days waiting for the results...

But in the meantime, Ada is having a blast at home. She has really enjoyed hanging out with friends and family, playing with the hose, boating, going to the splash park, playing at playgrounds, and resuming a somewhat normal life (at least until next week when we have to go back to the hospital and start round #3).

https://youtube.com/shorts/8K5hTO156PU?feature=share

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Barb Mullen — 7/14/22
It's wonderful to see Ada having fun and being a kid. Prayers and hope for all of you.
Kari Powell — 7/14/22
Sending love and good vibes and praying for good results!
Julie Leuthold — 7/14/22
You're such a sweet little girl! So happy you get to be home and play
with your family.
You hang in there, you're strong and tenacious
Nicholas Torres — 7/13/22
❤️
Tanya McDonnell — 7/13/22
🙏
Kay aiken — 7/13/22
Hugs to you all!!

July 9, 2022

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July 9, 2022

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July 9, 2022

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July 08, 2022- home!

Just wanted to write a quick update that Ada is home! Her neutrophils rapidly increased this week and we were able to come home Wednesday. We will be home for about a week and a half! Like last time, it has been an adjustment, but we are starting to settle in. She is loving playing with her little sister and big brother.

Lisa Schmitt — 7/13/22
Prayers and well wishes being sent daily :-)
Jason Anderson — 7/11/22
Hooray!!!
April Lee — 7/9/22
So glad she is home!!!
Penny Agar — 7/9/22
So happy you are home, looks like everyone is having a good time. 🌸 Rick and Penny
Sue Sullivan — 7/9/22
Nothing like family and home. Keep hanging in there. You are stronger than you could ever imagine.🙏🙏🙏
Julie Leuthold — 7/8/22
Family Fun times. You're all so brave and full of love ❤️
Nicholas Torres — 7/8/22
❤️
Jana Montgomery — 7/8/22
Yay!! So glad Ada is home and enjoying a bit more normalcy
Kay aiken — 7/8/22
Yay!!

July 4, 2022

Emily Karch — 7/4/22
How fun!

July 4, 2022

Timothy Clark — 7/4/22
Happy Fourth of July little one.
Love Papa C

July 4, 2022

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July 4, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/6/22
My super (scary) hero!

July 4, 2022

Happy fourth!

Ada continues to do really well! She spiked a few low-grade fevers this past week, but they seemed to go away during the day. Because of this, she is on IV antibiotics until her neutrophils come back up. At this point it is just a waiting game for those numbers to come up so we can go home before the next round. Neutrophils were up slightly this morning so I'm optimistic that we can go home later this week! This round seemed to go quicker initially, but now this last week or so has felt very very long! It has also been a bit tougher emotionally lately and I think it's because of the 4th of July holiday. Five years ago, we decided to have baby #2. Four years ago, Ada celebrated her first holiday. Three years ago, we had just moved back to Wisconsin and were able to celebrate the 4th with our families. Two years ago, I found out I was pregnant on July 4th. It's a fun holiday that should be celebrated with friends, family, parades, food, and fireworks and this year just doesn't feel right. We are stuck in the hospital listening to fireworks in the distance. Luckily, Ada doesn't care. She just wants to work (she's busy playing "nurse" by taking her stuffie's vitals, giving them medicine, feeding them, and putting them to bed and biking all over the hospital). She even found an office where she works on her computer, makes phone calls, and does paperwork.
 
Next Wednesday will be Ada's 3rd bone marrow biopsy. We need to make sure that we get the cancer cells down to an undetectable level in order for the bone marrow transplant to work. So if we don't get there after this round, we have one more round of the standard treatment (although this next round is a much higher dose...10x what is was in the previous rounds!). Keeping our fingers crossed...
 
As always, thank you everyone SO much for your support. I wish had more time to write thank you notes but we are beyond grateful for all of the kind words, gifts, food, thoughts, and prayers. 
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jeannie tauchman — 7/6/22
I just learned about Ada today and we are so sorry. She sure is a busy and strong little girl. I think you have a future nurse in the family! We are thinking of all of you and sending hugs. Jeannie and Cary Tauchman
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/8/22
Thank you Jeannie and Cary! Continued prayers are appreciated!
Marisa Lukesic — 7/5/22
Thanks so much for sharing this Ada update. Today at Inspire I shared a story about a hero. And I asked the school age kids to share what they thought a hero was. Oliver mentioned Ada. We decided that Ada is definitely our hero. She is so courageous/brave and so are all of her family members and friends. Stay strong!! ❤️❤️❤️
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Cheryl Clark — 7/6/22
Best big brother with lots of Love❣
Karen and Mark Swenson — 7/5/22
Ada has the best
big brother in this entire world! So sweet!❤❤
Tami Swenson — 7/5/22
I love this!
Sue Sullivan — 7/5/22
Sending prayers and hugs to all. Maybe you will have a nurse in the family some day. I hope some day I can meet Ada she is a tough little one just like you used to be?🙏🙏🙏
Cheryl Clark — 7/5/22
Yes Sue, she is just like her Momma was as a child!!
Vera Aiken — 7/4/22
Thanks for the update my dear Tami! Ada is in my thoughts and prayers every day. She is an amazing, strong girl and will get through this.
Sending love!
Bethanee Rageth — 7/4/22
Thinking of you all and sending you lots of hugs and love! Keep up that amazing spirit Ada!! ❤️
Kay aiken — 7/4/22
Thank you for the update. Sending virtual hugs to you all and prayers that July 4, 2023 will be back to normal and filled with happiness and fun!!
April Lee — 7/4/22
Ada is amazing and so is your family. We send all our love!!!!
Kathryn Sederberg — 7/4/22
Happy Fourth! Love that this day has happy memories for your family. Thinking of you! Ada's strength is inspiring!
Emily Karch — 7/4/22
I am so proud of Ada each day! Her strength and positive outlook is amazing! Wish you all well over the holiday.
Aniek Janssen — 7/4/22
Big hug Tami, thinking of you and wishing you even more strength on this rough day ❤️🍀
Much love to you and your family. I’d love to meet Ada one day, she seems like an awesome lady, just like her mother.

June 25, 2022

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June 25, 2022

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June 25, 2022

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June 25, 2022

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June 25, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/26/22
Love this!

June 25, 2022

Ada is still VERY full of energy which is good but can be exhausting :) . Her cell count numbers appear to have bottomed out (she is in the nadir period) which is more or less the goal of the chemo. Now we wait for the counts to go back up. Hopefully they go up quick enough so that we get to take her home for a few days before the next treatment.

She loves to explore the hospital, bike around the grounds, play piano, make phone calls, play nurse (e.g. checks vitals, puts bandaids on, chart, etc), and hassle all the staff in the hallway (while they try to work)!

As always thanks for everyone's support, this is very challenging but Ada's spunk and everyone's support makes it so much easier!

 

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Jason Anderson — 6/27/22
Happy to hear that she's in good spirits :) Hope you and all of her other caretakers are able to get some rest and that her cell counts come back looking good!
Mike Goldsher — 6/26/22
Ada has a strong will! Go Ada!
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/26/22
That's our Ada! You keep going girl! Tami & Joel you're amazing too! Thinking of you all. Sending hugs to everyone.
Kristina Geiger — 6/25/22
I’m so sorry to hear about Ada’s diagnosis. Happy to hear she’s got energy and you’re getting through the chemo. Keep up the good work, thinking of you!
Penny Agar — 6/25/22
Ada love the pictures. You look amazing riding your bike. Good job!! Rick and I are cheering for you.💗
Fern Swenson — 6/25/22
Thinking about you all and hoping things turn out well! You are all amazing!
Neil Swenson — 6/25/22
I am glad that Ada has the superpower of high energy!
Barb Mullen — 6/25/22
All of this cuts right to your heart- no doubt about that. Cheering you on and praying for your family.
Sue Sullivan — 6/25/22
Love the pictures. She is going strong what a fighter. Praying that your energy will be a match for hers 🙏🙏
Kay aiken — 6/25/22
You and Tami are doing such an amazing job juggling all of this with the help of Ada's grandparents. Wish there was more we could do to actively help you through this. Know we are thinking of you all and praying for Ada. Love you all.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/25/22
Ada gets her spunk and determination from her loving and amazing parents!! You are all SUPER HEROS!

June 19, 2022

We are nearly one week into treatment for the second round. She will finish chemo on Tuesday and like last time, we will stay in the hospital while her blood cell counts continue to go down then back up. She will inevitably get fevers and just feel crummy for awhile (which just means the chemo is doing it's job). However, she has been SO energetic this past week! We recently changed her nutrition that she gets through her feeding tube to something that is a little healthier (it contains some blended foods and not just corn syrup), but I swear it must contain caffeine. Today I walked 3 miles following Ada though the hospital! She is either biking, running, walking, pulling a wagon, or pushing a little tykes car. The second we get back to the room, she's asking to go out again. While I'm exhausted, I do love her enthusiasm! With all of her positive energy and knowing what to expect this round, it has been a little bit easier during this hospital stay (and we hope it continues!).

We also got to enjoy a meal together today as a family of five for Father's Day. On my way to the hospital to switch with Joel, I picked up breakfast and we joined Joel and Ada outside and had a little picnic. The weather was perfect and the food was good (who doesn't love the Pancake House?!). The kids loved chasing eachother around with lots of big giggles all around!
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Sue Sullivan — 6/22/22
Ada is a little fighter. You are getting your exercise so that makes time go faster. So glad you could have a little family time it is so important for everyone, sending prayers🙏
Kathryn Sederberg — 6/21/22
Thanks for the Father's Day picture and the update! Love to see all those smiles. What a strong kid!
Neil Swenson — 6/20/22
Glad that she is wearing out a trike and the hospital floor!
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/20/22
So happy you got to celebrate together!
Barb Mullen — 6/20/22
Ada sounds like such a fun little girl! What spirit! Continued prayers.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/20/22
Thank you Barb! She continues to amaze us!
David Swenson — 6/20/22
Caffeine is good - you go Ada!
Linda Swenson — 6/19/22
Love reading the journal entries. Prayers for Ada🙏🏻 She is a warrior and will beat this 💗👍🏻
Janine Zabel — 6/19/22
So glad to hear you were all able to spend Father’s Day together. 🙏💕
Julie Leuthold — 6/19/22
Your post just made my day! HaPpY Dance for Ada!
Ellen Goldsher — 6/19/22
❤️
Angie Paulson — 6/19/22
So happy to hear this round is going well and that the whole family was able to get together for Father’s Day!!

June 20, 2022

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June 14, 2022- Round 2

As anticipated, yesterday we came back to the hospital for round 2 of chemo. This round should be similar to the first one (about 1 month in the hospital). We also received some of her bone marrow biopsy results. There is still some residual disease (cancer cells) following the first round of chemo. Although it is lower (about 5% vs 30%), this means Ada will need a bone marrow transplant. We will check her marrow again after this second round of chemo and hopefully the cancer cells are below 0.5% which will then mean she needs one more round of chemo followed by the bone marrow transplant process (which includes even more chemo to get rid of essentially everything so that the healthy donor stem cells will repopulate her blood). We are very fortunate that her brother, Oliver is a match. A transplant from a sibling is safer than from a stranger. They need to run a few more tests on him to make sure he doesn't have any infectious diseases or anything unsafe, but I'm optimistic. 

Ada began chemo last night and as usual is doing very well! She woke up bright-eyed and ready to go at 7 am this morning and remains oblivious about what her body is going through. I have no doubt that her unrelenting energy and happiness will get her (and us) through this terrible nightmare.

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Debra Cook — 6/17/22
One day at a time was a comment on here. That is so true. It is all about that when dealing with it everyday but the amazing medical team treating Ada have a goal of healing her for the long term. All of you have incredible love and support, the best medical care available and most importantly faith In God who will see you through it all.
Thinking of all of you everyday. I have told your story to a few of my close friends who are also including Ada in prayers.
Aunt Debbie
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Sue Sullivan — 6/15/22
I pray daily for Ada and a cure for this dreadful disease. Hang in there 🙏🙏🙏
Kari Powell — 6/15/22
Thinking about you all daily. Big hugs from Alabama.
Angie Paulson — 6/15/22
Your resilience continues to amaze us Ada!! Sending lots of love and prayers for Round 2 to go as smoothly as possible
Holly Ertmer — 6/14/22
Continued prayers and love for you guys 🥰
Kay aiken — 6/14/22
Ada is amazing as are her parents! What a trooper she has been! Sending our love!
stacey barmore — 6/14/22
Sending lots of positive energy your way, along with lots of prayers! What a ray of sunshine Ada is!💗
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/14/22
Praying everyday for everyone to have the strength, courage & faith to handle this. You are loved by so many people. We will be there to help you thru this. Ada's a super trooper & so are you & Joel! Sending lots love & hugs!
Nicole Burm — 6/14/22
Hugs! Ada is a little warrior and parents are warriors too!
Shannon Gibbons — 6/14/22
Dear Swenson Family,
I know sweet Ada from Inspire! I’ve been praying and will continue to pray for Ada and strength for your entire family and team of people helping her!
❤️ Much Love,
Shannon (Davis) Gibbons
(Bob’s Sister)
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Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/14/22
❤️Remember that you are all strong, you are all amazing, you are all Tough! And you are all loved by so many! We will get through this terrible nightmare! Stay positive and strong little super sweetheart! One day at a time.❤️
Rachel Carlson — 6/14/22
It sounds like Ada made great progress through her first round of chemo. And, what great news that Oliver is a match! Sending lots of love and light your way.
Julie Leuthold — 6/14/22
Sorry it came to a transplant, but how wonderful to have her brother as match.
Stay strong Ada.
Hugs to your family
Jana Montgomery — 6/14/22
While that’s not the news you were hoping for, I’m so glad there is a plan and that Ada is doing so well!
Amanda Reed — 6/14/22
Ada’s resilience, happiness and energy are amazing. So many prayers!!
Luthien Niland — 6/14/22
I'm so sorry this was the outcome of the biopsy and that there's now this huge new step that will affect your family even more. I love you all and hope you start to see the other side of this sometime soon.
Aniek Janssen — 6/14/22
Amazing how much strength and positivity you have as a family ❤️🍀 big hugs and much love.
Cheryl Clark — 6/14/22
Stay strong and positive Tami and Joel...Ada is a fighter!!! With lots of love and support we will get through this❣❣

June 11, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/11/22
You let your 4 yr old cut your hair, but not your Mom?! Hmmmm

June 11, 2022

Since Ada is a 4 year old with cancer she gets what she wants but this seems like a bridge too far....

Penny Agar — 6/13/22
Ada love the hair styling on your Dad. 💗
Joel Swenson — 6/12/22
To clarify, I asked Ada if she wanted me bald(er), she said "no" and Tami said "heck no" so they just shortened it
Julie Leuthold — 6/11/22
Like daughter like Dad!
Kay aiken — 6/11/22
I love this!
Nicole Burm — 6/11/22
Bald is beautiful! ❤️
Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/11/22
Oh boy! Can't wait to see you tomorrow 😁
Mike Goldsher — 6/11/22
Super dad 💪
Aaron Hardin — 6/11/22
Good job, dad!
Sara Berndt — 6/11/22
Looks like she gave you a perfect summer cut!
don carlson — 6/11/22
That is awesome! Nice work Ada
Sharon Clark — 6/11/22
Gotta be the worlds best daddy!❤️
Debbie McKenzie — 6/11/22
After picture??
Neil Swenson — 6/11/22
That should be a #1 clipper.... Hope you tip her well.
Deb Berndt — 6/11/22
Grandpa C is next

June 8, 2022

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June 8, 2022

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June 8, 2022

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June 8, 2022

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June 8, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 6/8/22
Happy 4th Birthday Ada!

June 8, 2022

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June 7, 2022

We found out several good pieces of news today! Firstly, Oliver is a very good match for Ada if Ada needs a bone marrow transplant (Don't tell Oliver this though! We aren't bringing it up until we know we need to) . If we need to go down that path (we will hopefully know in a week or two) they would still need to do a few more compatibility tests but its very promising that he is a match so far and there are a few more matches in the https://bethematch.org/ bone marrow database. The second piece of good news is that Ada gets to stay home until Monday (barring any surprises) so we will have her here for a little over a week! The first few days she was home was amazing because she was home and was the first time in ~1 month that all of us (or even Tami and me) were at our house together...however, it was also very stressful for everyone to get acclimated to a new situation and for Tami and I to feel comfortable providing her medical needs at our house. Its also hard telling Ada that she can't play in the dirt, pick flowers, etc because she is still extremely susceptible to infections due to the chemotherapy. Regardless, we love having her home and everyone is adjusting to this new, temporary normal. We continue to be grateful for all the well wishes, gifts, and food people have been providing. Its uplifting to know so many people care and are willing to take time out of their day to read these posts, send well wishes, etc. Thank you all.

Tomorrow is Ada's birthday! She will be turning 4. We've celebrated twice already! Tomorrow is also a big day medically as she gets an injection of chemo directly into her cerebrospinal fluid (csf) and a bone marrow biopsy. She will be sedated for the procedure and last time the sedation + chemo injected into her csf caused her to be quite sick so it might be a tough birthday for her (no food for most of the day as well). The results of the bone marrow biopsy will trickle in over ~1 week and will inform her treatment plan. If they find a bunch of cancer cells that likely means we are headed towards a bone marrow transplant, if they don't see cancer cells then we are likely headed towards 4 more rounds of chemotherapy. We are very anxious for these results.

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Ann Arango — 6/9/22
It’s so nice to look out our front window and see you all out having fun. Happy birthday week, Ada🎈🎈Love the photos.
Sue Sullivan — 6/9/22
So glad Ada could be home for her Birthday. Hope she didn’t get to sick from her injection. I’m sure just being home was a good dose of medicine for everyone. Sending prayers 🙏🙏🙏
Amanda Reed — 6/9/22
So glad Ada got to spend some time at home! So many fierce prayers for positive news.
stacey barmore — 6/8/22
Happy happy birthday to Ada!! Thinking of you and continuing to pray for you all.💕
Kwan Chow — 6/8/22
Happy birthday Ada! Sending lots of love to your family!
Cari Felker — 6/8/22
Happy Birthday Ada, so glad she can celebrate at home. Sending prayers on all the tests and procedures you all have to deal with. Keeping the faith for even more good news💕
Jae Min — 6/8/22
Happy birthday Ada! It must feel weird to spend your special day at the hospital, but guess what? We're celebrating YOU all over the world! I am in Texas and celebrating your birthday today 🎂
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/8/22
Happiest Birthday sweet Ada!!!
Raghu Kainkaryam — 6/8/22
Happy 4th Birthday, Ada! Best wishes for this one and many more to come!🎂💖
David Swenson — 6/8/22
Happy Birthday Ada - we're happy that you're home for a while and praying for you like crazy!
Cheryl Clark — 6/8/22
Happy Birthday to a strong sweet girl. You are loved by sooooo many people😘.
We will see you soon so we can celebrate your birthday again🥳 Stay strong today and remember we LOVE you so much❣❣Mayme and Papa C
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Beth Didreckson — 6/8/22
Happy Birthday to Ada. A sweet little one who is written in my prayer journal and heart. 🙏
Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/8/22
🎈🎂Happy, happy birthday to our super hero sweetheart! 🎂🎈 We are so happy we are able to spend time with you at home and be with you on your 4 th birthday. Hugs and kisses. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Mayme and Papa S.
Nicole Burm — 6/8/22
Sending love and birthday wishes! ❤️
Aniek Janssen — 6/8/22
Wishing Ada and you much strength on her 4th birthday, big hugs and much love, Coen & Aniek
Vera Aiken — 6/8/22
That is very good news! Happy birthday sweet Ada! Keep strong! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. We love you!
Becky Aiken — 6/8/22
Happy birthday Ada!!!!! 🎉❤️
Peter Mullen — 6/8/22
Happy birthday Ada! 🎉🎈🥳
Janine Zabel — 6/7/22
Happy birthday Ada!🎈 So glad you are able to be home with your family! Praying for good news in your upcoming test results! 🙏 Sending positive vibes and caring thoughts to you all!💕
Saryn Cushing-Leubner — 6/7/22
Happy Birthday Ada!!! I’m glad you’re able to spend time at home with your family! *hugs*
don carlson — 6/7/22
Happy birthday Ada! So glad she was able to be home for a bit.
Erin Lynn — 6/7/22
Happy birthday Ada!!!! SO happy you’ve gotten some at home time! 😊❤️🎂
- your friend Mason
Luthien Niland — 6/7/22
You are all caring for her so well, Ada is so fortunate to have such brave and amazing parents and grandparents! Happy Birthday Ada!!
Sara Berndt — 6/7/22
Wonderful news! Happy Birthday Ada!
Terri Turner — 6/7/22
Aw I passed by your home and saw the cool sign. Happy Birthday, Ada!❤️How cool that Oliver is a match. Praying for good news all around soon.
April Lee — 6/7/22
Happy birthday sweet girl!!
Deb Berndt — 6/7/22
Good to hear the good news. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADA🎈🎈🎉🎉❤❤
Dan Peacock
June 4, 2022
Happy Birthday Ada ! Prayers for successful healing.
Amy & Steve Wagner
June 4, 2022
We are thinking of you and hope Ada will continue to improve!

June 4, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/4/22
What a great experience!

June 4, 2022

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June 4, 2022

Timothy Clark — 6/4/22
10 four big buddy
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/3/22
Looks like fun!

June 2, 2022

Quick update because I'm terrible at writing timely updates! We might get to go home tomorrow (at least for a few days)! Ada's immune system is slowly starting to rebuild and her numbers are looking good. If this trend continues and assuming she stays fever-free, we get to go home until Wednesday. Its the perfect timing for a small birthday celebration (she turns 4 on Wednesday) and a chance to hang out with Oliver and Ellie. We are thrilled, but also in a bit of a panic. There are so many precautions that we need to take. She is very prone to infections so we need to somehow steer clear of some things that she loves to do at home (swimming, playing in the sandbox and dirt, or really touching anything that has germs... which is everything!). 

The last few days at the hospital have been busy as we learn how to take care of Ada's central line and feeding tube at home, give meds, keep her safe, etc. She also has her full energy back lately and has been biking around every accessible area of the hospital. We even got to tour Medflight! We didn't get to fly, but Ada enjoyed pretending she was a Medflight nurse and touching everything in the helicopter. And the view of Madison from the hospital rooftop was beautiful!
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Kari Corrigan — 6/6/22
This is so good to hear. I had a couple quick ideas for you. You could smoosh up Graham crackers and make her a little mini sandbox, minus the germs. Same goes for the cookie part of Oreos for the dirt. You can just use big cake pans, or even a box top/lid. Through some toys in there like a shovel, little umbrellas (like you use for drinks) etc. Sending endless good, positive, healthy vibes your way, always! ♥️
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Barb Mullen — 6/5/22
Joel and Tammy, we were so sad to hear this news. Stay strong, hold onto each other and believe. We're glad you are at Madison. The doctors can do amazing things. Prayers in abundance.
Sharon Clark — 6/5/22
Such wonderful news. Can’t wait to hear the info about the birthday party. Happy birthday Ada🎂🎈💕
Debbie McKenzie — 6/4/22
Happy to hear that Ada may be home for her birthday! Have a wonderful celebration!! Thoughts are with you all!
Julie Leuthold — 6/4/22
What a great update!
Ada, it sounds like you're training for the Children's Hospital Marathon.
Sending you a big teddy bear hug.
Love to your family
Monica Dull — 6/4/22
So happy that Ada will come home for her 4th birthday! Praying that Ada’s reunion home and the celebration are success!
Beth Didreckson — 6/4/22
Praying for your precious girl and all those who love her so dearly. Hoping it’s an absolutely wonderful birthday celebration and you can navigate all those germ situations!
Cheryl Clark — 6/4/22
Ada was able to show me where she rides her bike. It was quite the tour!! Couldn't keep up with her, she is very fast on her trike. It was great to see her energy! I just want to let everyone know that everyone that cares for her in the hospital is so amazing! It makes a difficult situation a little bit easier.
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April Lee — 6/4/22
Wonderful to hear this news and sending lots of hugs for her 4th birthday!! 🎂
Kay aiken — 6/4/22
Great news! Thinking if you all! Love you.
Debra Cook — 6/4/22
Sounds encouraging Tami! We are thinking of all of you. Much love.
Auntie Debbie and John
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 6/3/22
What great news! Praying all goes well & she can go home to celebrate her birthday. Sending you all a huge hug
Matt Valkovic — 6/3/22
We’re so happy to hear this news! You are all in our prayers and hope Ada has a fun day celebrating her birthday at home!
Sue Sullivan — 6/3/22
So glad to hear this. A visit home might be just what the doctor ordered for everyone. Hugs and prayers to all.
Karen and Mark Swenson — 6/3/22
That is awesome news, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that she gets to go home for a short visit and to have a little birthday party! Can’t wait to see her at home again!
Linda Swenson — 6/3/22
So happy for Ada that she gets to go home and celebrate her 4th Birthday🥰🎂. Thoughts and prayers for her and your family😘
Ron Felker — 6/3/22
That is great news ☺️
Jeff Goldsher
May 29, 2022
Hi Ada, we hope you are feeling better soon, and pray for your successful recovery . Love Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Fran to Emmy, Isla, and Ben Goldsher across the street

May 27, 2022

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May 27, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/27/22
Love this❤️

May 27, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/27/22
So happy she got to see her favorite buddy!

May 27, 2022

Due to covid, Ada is limited to 2 primary support people (me and Joel) and no visitors. Due to the length of her stay, we were able to get approval for 2 more so we added the grandmas to the list, but then they got covid... when it rains it pours. Thankfully they're ok and they will be allowed back at the hospital soon (we have to wait 20 days)! So after these 3 long weeks I think Ada is pretty sick of us. We were very fortunate to see some new faces that just happened to be outside when we went on our bike ride! Ada got to reunite with her siblings who both greeted her with BIG hugs, her Uncle Nate (visiting from Florida) and even her best friend, Oscar. Ada seemed unsure at first, but then she just seemed to pick up where she left off with everyone. The unofficial visits were short because the hospital halls and sidewalks just couldn't contain the excitement and energy, but it gave Ada some extra smiles. 😊 We also have to continue to be extra careful with germs.

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Brad Swenson — 5/30/22
Sounds like she’s a fighter and Ada has an amazing support team to get her through this. We will continue to follow her story with hope and prayers. Glad you have a truly remarkable children’s hospital for treatment.
Robyn Czappa — 5/28/22
Thinking of Ada and your family everyday. How sweet that Oscar got to visit! Sending positive thoughts your way!
Beth Didreckson — 5/28/22
I will be praying earnestly for your precious girl. 🙏🙏🙏
Sue Sullivan — 5/27/22
Thinking of you everyday and praying for you every night🙏
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/27/22
Ada’s “Maymes” are anxious to get to the hospital soon to see her!
Terri Turner — 5/27/22
That's wonderful! I hope she felt loved and it bolstered her spirits!
Julie Leuthold — 5/27/22
It's so sweet and yet sad to see the kids together. This must be very confusing for all of them. You are amazing parents and loving family. Glad to see Ada staying strong.
Julie
Amanda Reed — 5/27/22
I’m so glad she got to see some family and friends!! Glad to hear the grandparents are doing well after Covid as well.
Kay aiken — 5/27/22
That picture of Oliver hugging her is making me cry. So sweet.
Jan Boushele Hanke
May 27, 2022

May 26, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/26/22
Ada and daddy…..two of my favorite people!

May 26, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/26/22
So Happy to see our super smiley girl!

May 26, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/26/22
Love those smiles😘

May 25, 2022 (Become a marrow and/or blood donor!)

We continue to wait for blood cell counts to go up. Hopefully it will start to happen within the next week. While we wait, it's been really difficult to not think about the future. We've been told to just take it day by day and be present in the moment. That is much easier said than done. Ada's diagnosis has changed from AML to AUL (acute undifferentiated leukemia). That is based on the type of cell that turned into cancer (it was a young one with ambiguous lineage). All this means is that even less is known about this specific disease since it is so rare. There just haven't been enough cases of AUL to know the exact treatments that may be needed and the prognosis. However, we've been assured that the AML treatment is more aggressive than ALL treatment so it is a good start. Also, she has responded well to the treatments so far (from what we can tell)... again we'll know more in a couple of weeks. At this point we don't know if Ada will need a bone marrow transplant. This is another unknown that I can't help but think/ worry about. To be prepared, her brother and sister just got blood sampled to see if they would be a potential donor match. We won't know for about one week. If they aren't matches, then we will turn to the National Marrow Donor registry to see if there are matches. Our hospital neighbor (a teenager undergoing AML treatment who is about 2 weeks ahead of Ada) is looking for a bone marrow match and is unable to find one. This has made me realize the importance of becoming a donor. So if you are able, become a donor! It is really easy (and painless...at least initially). My new way of thinking is "if my 3 year old can undergo chemo treatment and everything she has been through, I can handle a little bit of pain" especially if it can save someones life! Here is more info and details to become a potential donor:

The National Marrow Donor Program has managed the largest and most diverse marrow registry in the world for the past 30 years. You can register to join the registry at https://join.bethematch.org. The registration process will consist of a series of questions about your medical history to see if you meet basic qualifications. If you meet the basic qualifications, you will be asked to swab your cheek to provide a sample of your DNA. Your DNA will be added to the registry for potential matching with a patient. When you are matched with a patient, you will be contacted to donate. It could be weeks, months, or years before you are contacted to donate.

While I am at it, I also want to mention how important it is to donate blood! I have been a blood donor for several years and this whole experience has been truly enlightening. Your blood donation really does save lives (Ada has had a few transfusions already).

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Beth S — 5/28/22
Hi Tami, I used to work with your mom. I have been following Ada's and your story through caring bridge. Long story short, when I was 5 I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. I ended up needing a bone marrow transplant. My brother was a match and here I am now in my early 40's married with two kids. One of the little girls next to me did not have a match, her name was Caitlin Raymond. Her family ended up creating the Caitlin Raymond International Bone Marrow Registry, which has since been absorbed into Be The Match.
I wanted to briefly share my history with you to give you a success story. I will continue to follow you journey through this while Ada kicks some butt!! Hugs and prayers to you all,
Beth Schultz
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Estelle Couradeau — 5/27/22
Both Simon and I are joining the bethematch registry, waiting for our swabs to be shipped to us. Thanks for that post - sending a lot of positive waves to all of you!
Joel Swenson — 5/27/22
Thanks for posting this Tami! Yes, please sign-up to donate bone marrow if you can! It is free, very easy to do, and could save a little kid's life! Tell your friends! :) Regardless, thanks to everyone for their continued support.
Tanya McDonnell — 5/27/22
Thinking of you often a d sending positive vibes for you guys and Ada! Sorry you are all going through this.
I’ve been on the registry for a couple years already hoping to be someone’s match yet! It’s easy to register.
Aniek Janssen — 5/27/22
Big hugs ❤️🍀
Terri Turner — 5/26/22
Wow I had never heard of that type of leukemia. Thank you for the reminder to donate blood. My son also received life saving transfusions. It really does make a difference! ❤️
Emily Karch — 5/26/22
Love and hugs for Ada! I’m signed up to be a donor!
Jana Montgomery — 5/26/22
I will look into becoming a donor! I don't know if I'll be able to help but you're right; if a 3 year old can handle chemo like a champ, I can be uncomfortable for a little bit.
Cheryl Clark — 5/26/22
Thank you for posting this important information. I have been donating blood for many years and will continue! Prayers for our sweet Ada💝💗❣️
Kay aiken — 5/26/22
Thank you for sharing this information. Prayers continue.
Bethanee Rageth — 5/26/22
Stay strong sweet Ada! Thinking of you!! ❤️ Signing up to be a donor today!
Angela Peterson — 5/26/22
Matt and I are already registered! Very easy to do!

May 22, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 5/22/22
Beautiful smiles😍
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/22/22
Cuties!!🥰

May 22, 2022

The last few days have been fairly uneventfully (fortunately) as we continue to wait for Ada's immunity to recover. Her mood has been trending toward normal (happy, busy and fiesty)! We are getting into a rhythm of waking up, being lazy, biking outside and inside the hospital (we've discovered many secret sidewalks, pianos, hallways and gardens), doing quiet activities such as crafts and games, napping, more biking, and more playing! She is developing a reputation with the staff as the happy girl on the tricycle! There isn't much else to report except that we continue to be amazed and very grateful for all the love and support we are getting from family, friends, neighbors and coworkers!
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Jake Klamka — 5/24/22
Thank you so much for sharing. Sending love and positive thoughts to Ada and your entire family!
Jason Anderson — 5/23/22
Happy to hear how Ada is doing :) We hope that things remain (fortunately) uneventful and that the upward trend in Ada's mood continues!
Rachel Carlson — 5/23/22
Feisty! Yes! Sending love.
Julie Leuthold — 5/22/22
What a great update. Fun and feisty! You're our inspiration. Sweet dreams, Sweetheart.
Sharon Clark — 5/22/22
Prayers continue 🙏. So glad to hear that she is staying busy and feisty!😇
Sue Sullivan — 5/22/22
A positive attitude and lots of prayers from family and friends will make the journeys little bit easier 🙏🙏🙏
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/22/22
😘Stay strong and silly sweetheart! We love you bunches!❤
Kay aiken — 5/22/22
Love you all. Prayers continue.
Cheryl Clark — 5/22/22
Feisty and Happy, that's our Sweet Ada...keep smiling , love and kisses🥰
Ron Felker — 5/22/22
We love to read how Ada and you are all doing. We continue to think of her and pray for her daily. Glad to hear she is Happy and Fiesty! You go girl! Love Ron and Patty 🤗🥰

May 21, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 5/21/22
She loves her bike🥰❣
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/21/22
Wow, a BIG hallway, awesome!

May 21, 2022

Mariah Zenz — 5/22/22
Ellie has been such a joy in class!! She’s been spreading extra joy and giggles for Ada at school 🤍
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/21/22
Cute Ellie belly!

May 20, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/20/22
What a girl!❤️
Timothy Clark — 5/20/22
Looks like you know your way around pretty good.
Cheryl Clark — 5/20/22
❤ love ❤

May 20, 2022

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May 19, 2022

Vera Aiken — 5/20/22
Keep up the beautiful smile our strong Ada! We are sending you lots of love!
Emily Karch — 5/19/22
Snuggles with Freddy the Ferret!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/19/22
Stay strong and keep smiling, sweetheart!

May 19, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/19/22
That’s our beautiful, strong Ada!

May 19, 2022

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May 18, 2022

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May 17, 2022

Today is the last day of treatments (for this round... several more rounds to follow)!! Ada continues to be her spunky beautiful self. She has endured 10 full days of intense chemo and so many procedures. I can't imagine how it must feel. Yet you would not know that she has gone through this. How many people would just lie there while someone slowly tears off this giant bandaid (that covers her central line) after their daily bath and withstand multiple rounds of sedation, pokes, and incredibly strong hazardous drugs? I know I wouldn't handle it nearly as well. All of the doctors and nurses are continuously amazed.

Yesterday was a bit on the rougher side (to be expected). She had her spinal tap where they literally tap into her central nervous system to see if there are any cancer cells and regardless, they also add some drugs (including chemo). The wonderful news: no cancer detected in her spinal fluid!!! However, her body did not like this procedure and she was pretty sick for several hours afterwards. Fortunately she fell asleep around 5:45 pm and slept mostly through the night! After such a rough day I also didn't mind an early night. When she woke up this morning she got sick once more and then immediately hopped on her bike! She has pretty much been non-stop all day.

Now we just wait for her blood cells (including her immune system) to recover. We will be in the hospital until they do just in case she gets an infection. It may take a few weeks. We'll get some time at home and then we come back to the hospital to do it all again 😩

The number of chemo rounds we do depends on what we find out in a couple of weeks. They will collect another bone marrow sample 29 days after the start of treatment and look for cancer cells to see if this round of chemo did what we wanted. If the amount of cancer cells is below a certain threshold, she will get 3-4 more rounds. If it's more, the path may involve more chemo and a bone marrow transplant. 
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Mihaela Delagrave — 5/20/22
Praying for all positive outcomes from now on, she is such an amazing, strong little girl, it fills my heart to see her smiling!
Michael Fox — 5/18/22
A tough little tike. She get's it from her parents and granparents!!
Sue Sullivan — 5/18/22
She is a real trooper. Hang in there Tami and family lots of prayer are being prayed🙏🙏🙏
Ann Arango — 5/18/22
Wow. Ada is so incredibly strong through this because she trusts you, Tami and Joel. And even though you’re worried and scared as any parent would be, you must be doing everything right for Ada to endure the pain and sickness, yet sleep so soundly and play so joyfully through it all.
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 5/18/22
Such an amazingly brave little girl!!! 💕
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/17/22
Ada is such an incredible little girl. Love her so much!
Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 5/17/22
So glad the first round went well!! Will be hoping only 3-4 is needed!
Sara Berndt — 5/17/22
Such a remarkable girl! Happy to hear she still has her spunk ❤️
Cathy McCorkell — 5/17/22
We are keeping Ada and all the family in prayer. She sounds like an amazing girl.

May the Lord comfort all of you as you walk through this. Cathy & George McCorkell
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Kari Powell — 5/17/22
Thank you for keeping us apprised of all that’s going on. I can’t imagine going through all of that either! What an amazing little human you have.
Jana Montgomery — 5/17/22
This is amazing news!! How incredible that she is so strong and brave so young!
Angie Paulson — 5/17/22
You are incredibly resilient, Ada! I’m wishing for all of you to have a peaceful, restful night❤️
Linda Swenson — 5/17/22
Thanks for the update Tami. What an amazing little girl you two have! Sending hugs and prayers your way. Ada should receive a care package sent to your home Thursday😘🙏🏻💗
Cheryl Clark — 5/17/22
Our Ada is one strong courageous little girl!! We love you so much❣❣
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/17/22
Our precious Ada is beyond incredible! Mayme and Papa love you Ada!
Kay aiken — 5/17/22
What a tough little girl! Prayers for her and all of her family. Sending you all our love 💘
Ron Felker — 5/17/22
What a strong incredible little girl 💕💕
Laura Thurgood — 5/17/22
What an incredible girl! Sending lots of love and hugs
Nicole Burm — 5/17/22
Thank you for the update! Sending all the love your way! 🙏🙏❤️
Becky Aiken — 5/17/22
Sending all of you all the love in the world!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Sharon Clark — 5/17/22
Thinking of and praying for all of you🙏❤️

May 16, 2022

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May 16, 2022

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May 16, 2022

Mihaela Delagrave — 5/17/22
You should have seen their little faces light up in excitement when we proposed making the flower petal sun catcher for Ada! ❤️🤗
Rachel Carlson — 5/16/22
Ada will always be a Costa Rica kid! She is greatly missed by all her friends. Each of those petals has love from all of Ada’s friends!

May 16, 2022

Ada had a pretty good night, she woke up at 9:30 PM and puked but slept well after that. Overall she has had less nausea (so far) than many patients so that is a plus! This morning she biked outside for around an hour then had her physical therapy (to keep her as strong as possible) and that said that she looks great! We are playing games on her iPad now and then either a nap or going to the play room after that!

Funny story about Oliver: last week I took him to an astronomy in the park event. We got to look at the moon and a binary star system though a telescope (good therapy for both of us). While there the folks leading the event shared that there was a lunar eclipse last night (the 15th). Oliver begged Tami to wake him up and show it to him, so she did say around 11PM and then they went back to bed. Two hours later Oliver wakes Tami up and he is very upset that Tami didn't wake him up for the eclipse! LoL. A very similar thing happened last year when I woke him up to see a comet.

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Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/16/22
Thank you for keeping us up to date. Thinking of you all everyday. Love ya! Give Ada a big hug from Auntie Pat
Michael Fox — 5/16/22
Astronomical comments!
Neil Swenson — 5/16/22
Thanks for the update. Will she try a two wheeler this summer?
Hope you all stay strong.
Ertmer Holly — 5/16/22
Love knowing you guys can get outside and get fresh air… and love the Oliver story :)
Cari Felker — 5/16/22
Thank you for sharing. We love you all!
Saryn Cushing-Leubner — 5/16/22
I’m so thankful Ada’s immune system is strong enough for you to get outside with her! I love that she parked her bike with all the big bikes! 💗
Luthien Niland — 5/16/22
I love hearing how you are all doing, thank you for taking the time to share. So so glad Ada is able to have fun with you all, and Oliver too!
Lauren Swenson — 5/16/22
Thanks so much for keeping this journal. We are thinking about you all constantly and love reading the stories and hearing about her day. (And we loved that Oliver story too!)

May 16, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/16/22
She looks content and busy! What a trooper!
love and light, Michael (Fox)
May 16, 2022
Dear Ada, you now have a friend in Japan who will support and pray for you! Stay strong and happy!

May 15, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/15/22
😘

May 15, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/15/22
So happy she’s outside!

May 15, 2022

The weather cooled down a bit and Ada's immune system is still strong enough so I got to take her outside! She had so much fun biking around. She will sometimes switch to pedal with only one leg which has to be good for maintaining as much strength as possible! :) Someone needs to direct me to the photo contest I can win with the pictures I took! ;) By the way if you are a kid with cancer you don't need to wear pants outside if you don't want to! 

You may notice in some of the pictures that she has a tube on her face through her nose. This is an NG tube and is used to deliver nutrients and medicine straight to her belly. We are glad that she has this now as we don't have to fight her about taking medicine and eating!

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Cari Felker — 5/16/22
So darn cute, that warmth of the sun is the best. No stopping her!
David Swenson — 5/16/22
Keep on trucking Ada - we're all pulling for you!
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/16/22
Our super hero Ada! Glad she can get outside
Saryn Cushing-Leubner — 5/15/22
Ada truly is a superhero!!!
Rachel Carlson — 5/15/22
Ada may just be the greatest superhero I ever did see!
Carly Eaton — 5/15/22
Violet says, "Wish you well! We love you, Ada!" She also picked a beautiful bouquet of weeds, but we'll hold on to that for you.
Bethanee Rageth — 5/15/22
Go Super Ada Go! ❤️
Ann Arango — 5/15/22
Oh Joel. Everyone knows superheroes don’t wear pants!
Mihaela Delagrave — 5/15/22
Super Ada is strong and fierce! Beautiful sunshine girl!
P.S. no pants days should be a thing
Gail Kissinger (Trebiatowski) — 5/15/22
This should definitely win a photo contest… nothing stronger then super girl Ada!💕
Terri Turner — 5/15/22
So adorable! Good job taking such good care of your little girl, Joel. You need a cape, too! Lol
Julie Leuthold — 5/15/22
You go Super Girl! 🌞 Sunshine heals your ❤️ heart
Kay aiken — 5/15/22
So glad she got to go outside!!
don carlson — 5/15/22
Great to get outside! Always healing.
Timothy Clark — 5/15/22
So great that Ada can enjoy some fresh air. Love Papa Clark ❤️ ♥️
Jana Montgomery — 5/15/22
These are amazing photos!! Love the cape! Glad to hear she is handling this like a champ!
Cheryl Clark — 5/15/22
So glad she can be outside in the fresh air and sunshine ! Love her cape "super Ada"💖
Emily Karch — 5/15/22
So fun! I hope she enjoys the gifts I dropped off!
Sharon Clark — 5/15/22
What a great daddy you are! So glad she is able to get out and have some fun❤️
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/15/22
Our little super hero!

May 15, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/15/22
Our super girl!

May 15, 2022

Cheryl Clark — 5/15/22
Super Ada😘

May 14, 2022

Sue Sullivan — 5/14/22
Looks just like her mommy! So sweet
Sharon Clark — 5/14/22
Still that sweet smile😇
Cheryl Clark — 5/14/22
Silly silly girl😘😍

May 13, 2022 - Roar!

Video of Ada roaring! :) https://photos.app.goo.gl/cw8UtDrDQykpG3gW7

Rachel Carlson — 5/15/22
Rooaaarr! Cutest dino!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/15/22
Stay silly and strong sweetheart 😘
Sue Sullivan — 5/14/22
You are in my thoughts and prayers 🙏
Cheryl Clark — 5/14/22
That's are silly Ada..🥰🤗
Nicole Burm — 5/13/22
Theodore said “baby said roar” ❤️❤️
Emily Karch — 5/13/22
You are strong and mighty like a dinosaur!
don carlson — 5/13/22
Great to see her in good spirits!
Luthien Niland — 5/13/22
This is the best! I love seeing her energy and spunk. Thank you for sharing!
Kay aiken — 5/13/22
So precious!

May 12, 2022

Kyle Felker — 5/16/22
stylish haircut!
Angie Paulson — 5/13/22
Beautiful girl ❤️
April Lee — 5/13/22
We think you are so beautiful Ada!!
Saryn Cushing-Leubner — 5/13/22
I love the new haircut! Looking fantastic Ada!!
Bethanee Rageth — 5/13/22
Love the new haircut! ❤️ Keep rockin’ Ada!!
Mariah Zenz — 5/13/22
Ada and Ellie are truly twins now 🤍 so beautiful!!
Emily Karch — 5/14/22
Agreed!
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/12/22
Love that smile❤️
Cheryl Clark — 5/12/22
Smiley sweetheart 💕
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/12/22
Love this smiley girl!

May 12, 2022

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May 12, 2022

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May 12, 2022

Kristin (Armstrong) DeSouza — 5/13/22
Super cute Ada!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/12/22
So beautiful inside and out!
Cheryl Clark — 5/12/22
Such a beautiful girl❣

May 12, 2022 - Grateful and thank you

In these challenging times we still have so much to be grateful for. We are so appreciate of all the love and support (supportive comments, meal train, etc) from friends, colleagues, and family near and far. Thank you all. We are grateful to live near a great hospital and have friends that work there to say hi to or give us tips. We are grateful for having great understanding/supportive colleagues and workplaces. We are grateful to have grandparents nearby who are able and willing to help us. We are grateful for the amazing nurses, doctors, child support specialists, etc that take such great care of Ada (and us). We are grateful for great neighbors who are always willing to help us and also give Oliver some extra attention. We are grateful for an amazing daycare for Ellie that is doing everything they can to accommodate our schedule and also giving Ellie a sense of normalcy. We are grateful for Oliver having an amazing school, teachers, and support staff, they are giving him extra love. I could go on and on.

It's going to be a long journey and we don't know what it looks like yet but thank you all for everything. What we do know is that Ada is amazing and that she is so loved by so many.

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Melanie Ball — 5/16/22
We are continuing to send you thoughts and prayers from afar. Thank you for continuing to share Ada and your family's journey!
Janine Zabel — 5/14/22
Keeping your family in our thoughts and prayers. 🙏🙏🙏
Kari Powell — 5/12/22
Thank you for keeping us updated. You have so many people who love y’all and think about you constantly throughout the day. Seems like she’s in great hands!
Jason Feist — 5/12/22
Love reading the updates, no surprise that amazing Ada is meeting this challenge head on. That young lady is full of determination! Please reach out if there is anything we can do. Jason & Ann
Linda Swenson — 5/12/22
Glad for that awesome support system😀. Praying daily for you, Tami, the kids, Ada and the Grands too🙏🏻💙. Love you all💗
Debbie McKenzie — 5/12/22
Joel and Tami--keeping you all in our thoughts! If there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask. Hugs for all!
Marisa Lukesic — 5/12/22
Sending out a big hug to Ada and fam!! Zookeeper Sara and I made some videos of the Inspire animals today that we hope to share with Ada very soon. Hugs, hugs, hugs from Ms. Marisa and Zookeeper Sara
Valerie Broughton — 5/12/22
I’m grateful Ada has Joel Swenson for a dad: strong, loving, fun, smart, with a heart of gold that’s big enough to love all of his family and healthy enough to break one minute and get put back together the next. Whatever it takes to take care of his family - that’s what he’s doing.

May 11, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/11/22
Beautiful mommy and her sweet Ada!

May 11, 2022

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May 11, 2022

It has been a good couple of days. Ada is on treatment day 4 out of 10 (for this round of chemo). Most times you wouldn't believe she is going through this. She continues to bike the hallways, play with anyone willing, take my vitals with the cool instruments, read books, play cars, etc. She even helped celebrate Kiko's 3rd birthday (the therapy dog... her best buddy)!
Ann Arango — 5/12/22
Look at the 2 of them in that photo! Love at first sight.
Aniek Janssen — 5/12/22
Dear Ada, Tami, Joel and sweet family, it’s amazing to see how positive & strong you are. Sending you much love and hugs, you’re in our thoughts, Coen & Aniek
Emily Hogoboom — 5/12/22
This photo is adorable!! I am rooting for Ada and praying for you and your family!
Melissa Kehoe — 5/11/22
Ada & Family - I’m a parent of one of Ada’s Inspire classmates (Annie) & we are wishing you strength and courage!! We’re thinking about you!
don carlson — 5/11/22
Good to hear things are going well so far. Ada is a trooper and a strong girl.
Linda Swenson — 5/11/22
What an amazing little girl🥰 Hugs and prayers for you, Ada 🤗
Amy Pawlitzke — 5/11/22
Ada, you are so strong and spunky! I’m not surprised you are already friends with Kiko-what a lucky dog!
Elsie misses you at school and wanted to tell you to ‘keep getting better at the hospital’!
Julie Leuthold — 5/11/22
Wow Ada! I love your new best buddy.
Lucky you, ride your bike in a big hallway!
Keeping smiling, YOU SUPER GIRL!
Lisa Schmitt — 5/11/22
Dearest Ada, I work with your Mommy. Please know that I am praying for you and sending good vibes your way.
Your Mommy's friend,
Ms. Lisa
Lisa Schmitt
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Nicholas Torres — 5/11/22
My family is praying for your strong family and your strong little girl.
Matt Valkovic — 5/11/22
Dear Ada and the entire Swenson family -- please know that your friends from California, Andrew, Tommy, Matt and Steph, are thinking about you!! We miss you all very much and we know Ada will be better soon!
Angie Paulson — 5/11/22
Way to go Ada, you’re almost halfway through this round!
Latoya Allen — 5/11/22
I am sending your family prayers, Tami!!
Sharon Clark — 5/11/22
I am so grateful to have access to the information about sweet Ada. My prayers are going up for her daily. Thank you, Tami for keeping us informed and a big thanks to all of those helping your family 😘
Laura Thurgood — 5/11/22
What a sweet picture! Ada is such a trooper ❤❤❤
Kay aiken — 5/11/22
She is so strong...like her mom and dad!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/11/22
She is a very strong and determined little sweetheart!
Marisa Lukesic — 5/11/22
Thank you for the encouraging update. It sounds like Ada is as zestful as ever! Hugs! Ms Marisa

May 10, 2022

Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/12/22
How precious 💕💞
Ron Felker — 5/10/22
Adorable! 💕

May 10, 2022

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May 10, 2022

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May 10, 2022

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May 8, 2022- Treatment Begins

Our brave little superhero began treatment on mother's day and just one month shy of her birthday. I knew to expect it, but today was rough. For the first chemo cycle, it is 10 days of treatment and then we wait around (in the hospital) for a few weeks to closely monitor her, check her blood, receive transfusions as needed, etc. On all 10 days she gets a chemo drug every 12 hours. On days 1, 3, and 5 she gets 2 additional drugs. I don't think her little tummy tolerates the 3 combo drugs too well because the night after we started treatment she was pretty sick. Fortunately it didn't last long and she slowly returned to her happy (a little less energized) self. She wasn't sick all night, but she was restless and very busy asking me very important questions every 30 minutes or so such as "What is that truck sound? Is it bringing rocks? Can I have a flashlight? What is the nurse's name? Where's my stuffy?". The lack of sleep wasn't ideal but at least she seemed more comfortable. The next day she was pretty sleepy (understandably so) but she eventually perked up and we resumed our normal hospital activities including biking through the hallway (while being hooked up for a blood transfusion!), playing with whoopee cushions, going to the playroom, looking for coffee, and doing puzzles. As we all already know, this is going to be a very long road. But we know our little Ada is very strong and we have an incredible support network.
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Terri Turner — 5/14/22
Love those bikes lol. I remember how much Oliver loved puzzles, too! =)
Erin Lynn — 5/11/22
We are sure missing Ada’s bright smile and hugs throughout the week, but we know her positivity and smiles are brightening the place there and that her courageousness and strength will pull her through stronger than before!!

Sending BIG hugs! - Mason and Erin (Mason’s Mommy 😊)
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Peter Mullen — 5/11/22
We’re pulling for you Ada and Swenson fam!
Carly Eaton — 5/10/22
Thinking of Ada and your whole family, and wishing you all the best. Ada's got this!
Sara Berndt — 5/10/22
Thinking of you guys. Sometimes bravery comes in the smallest of packages. You got this Ada!
Ron Felker — 5/10/22
Our thoughts and prayers are with you every day! Stay strong! 😘 Love Ron and Patty
Valerie Broughton — 5/10/22
Joel, Tell you mother , Karen, that if there was anything I could do to lessen your family's pain, I would. Our carefree days in Duluth never allowed for this kind of suffering. Ada will be in my prayers every day. We know human genetics, and we know she has a lot to offer, are there such things as spiritual genetics? I'm familiar with the Swensen side - please Lord save this baby for the good she has - the world needs her. Love, Alex Broughton's Mom, Valerie
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Stacy Dvorak — 5/10/22
Thinking of Ada often and sending all of you love and strength. Ross and Stacy
don carlson — 5/10/22
Hi Tami and Joel. So sorry to hear about this. Ada is a badass and will kick this. Please let us know how we can help. Sending love.
Don and Rachel
April Lee — 5/10/22
We are sending Ada and your family all of our love!! Ada is an amazing little girl!!
Mihaela Delagrave — 5/10/22
This sounds like Ada, through and through! 🤗
Luthien Niland — 5/10/22
You are keeping her so happy! She is so lucky to have you as her mom!! (and dad, love you too Joel)
Marisa Lukesic — 5/10/22
Way to go Ada! I see you dressed as a superhero biking through the hallway! Hugs!! Ms Marisa
Kari Powell — 5/10/22
Hugs! What a little rockstar.
Ann Arango — 5/10/22
Kids are so amazingly resilient. They also don’t stress and worry about cancer like we moms and dads do so well. They just put all that wonderful kid energy into getting well. Call us anytime you need anything! We’re just right across the street. 🤗
Kay aiken — 5/10/22
Oh sweet Ada....Sending you both both hugs and lots of love.
Mariah Zenz — 5/10/22
You’ve got this Ada!! You’re so brave sweet girl! We miss your contagious smiles at the Grand Canyon window, but I’m sure you’re spreading that joy all around the hospital 🤍 -Miss Mariah

How can I help?

Hello all - this is Ada's aunt; Holly. I have worked with Tami and Joel to set up Caring Bridge to allow them to keep family and friends updated on Ada.
Few additional updates:
1. I did want to let everyone know that when clicking on "donate to CaringBridge" button it goes directly to the Caring Bridge website. At this time they don't foresee a need for financial support but if they do they will make it clear through this site. Thanks!
2. I have set up a "meal train" website to allow friends and families the ability to signup for a specific day to  make/delivery a meal, purchase gift cards for groceries or local restaurants (purchase yourself and send to the Swenson family). If preferred, you can donate a monetary contribution via the meal train site to go toward food as well (this will go directly to Tami & Joel).
In addition Tami and Joel can use this site to reach out to their support system (us) for help with needed care pool, care, house cleanings, etc.
Link to Meal Train site:
https://mealtrain.com/egnmk1
Thanks everyone for the continued support and love!
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Terri Turner — 5/14/22
Great idea! Sorry I didn't see this sooner, but I'm bringing a meal tomorrow. This is such a HUGE blessing!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/10/22
Thank you for doing this Holly...you are THE BEST!
Jordan Wiklund — 5/10/22
Hello Swensons! Another pal from Duluth. Lots of love from Rachel & Jordan, Stella & Miles, the SlamCat and Cosmo. Love you guys.
Elisabeth Gibbons — 5/9/22
Hi Tami and Joel (and Oliver and Ada and Ellie) we are thinking of you guys. Sending lots of love and healing—elisabeth and Jack and Sylvie and Phoebe
Kay aiken — 5/9/22
Thank you for helping to set these sites up. There are so many people that want to help.
The Dull Family
May 9, 2022
You've got this Ada!
Jordan Wiklund
May 9, 2022
Bethanee Jordan Rageth
May 9, 2022
Big hugs and love to you all!
Deb Berndt
May 9, 2022
Cathi Epright
May 9, 2022
Stefan H
May 9, 2022

May 9, 2022

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May 8, 2022

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May 8, 2022

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The start

We never thought we'd be this family with a site like this. But we just never know what can happen. It started maybe a month or so ago. We started noticing a lot of bruises on Ada's legs and knees and a particularly large one on her lower back. Three year olds are wild and rough, but this was an unexplained change. We brushed it off as a typical 3 year old thing until we noticed that Ada was consistently saying her knees hurt, acting more docile than normal, sleeping more, and not eating much. She then had a few random fevers. After what I thought would be a simple doctor's visit that I thought would just result in "oh, she just has a tummy bug", our lives were turned upside down on May 4. We received a call at 11 pm that night with her blood results. I knew it was bad because the doctor said she'd only call if it was. She had extremely low platelets and red blood cells. And then we were told that her white blood cells "looked weird" under the microscope... consistent with a malignancy. We were told to bring her to the hospital in the morning so they can take a bone marrow sample to determine what exactly she has. The rest of the night was a blur of tears, fear, restlessness, disbelief and uncertainty. Ultimately we learned she has AML (acute myeloid leukemia) which is a blood cancer. She starts chemotherapy today. We are still awaiting genetic testing for her long-term treatment plan, but the most likely plan is that she will be in the hospital getting multiple rounds of chemo over the next 6 months with the chance to maybe come home for a few days every month or so. We are lucky to be close to UW Health, friends, and family. Feel free to share this link with others. Right now we don't know what we need in terms of support. Ada's grandparents are amazing and will be staying at our house to help. Ada is so strong, funny, smart, sweet, sassy, zestful, etc and we love her so much.

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Sanjeev Pathania — 5/16/22
Joel - I just wanted to let you know I’m praying for your family. No pressure at all, but if you ever need anything, I’m here.
Terri Turner — 5/14/22
Our family understands the whirlwind you're in right now. Hang in there...one day at a time! We know you will come out on the other side stronger than ever. Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way, Swensons!!!
Angie Paulson — 5/11/22
Ada & family, you are in our minds, hearts & prayers. We are with you every step of the way. Sending love and hugs of comfort
Emily Butler — 5/10/22
Ada is such a strong, compassionate, and resilient girl ❤️ My heart goes out to her and your family. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Nell Marshall — 5/9/22
Joel, My heart goes out to you and your family. Sending you all love and strength, and keeping Ada in my thoughts and prayers. We're here for you.
Julio Vega — 5/9/22
Sending all the family positive vibes, strength and support. We will keep Ada in our thoughts and be here for you and your family, Joel.
Wei-Nchih Lee — 5/9/22
Joel, my heart's best wishes to you and your family in these difficult times.
Kathryn Sederberg — 5/9/22
Joel and Tami, we are thinking about you and your family. I've heard so many wonderful things about your kids and Ada sounds like an incredible little girl. Sending strength - you are amazing parents and we will keep you in our thoughts.
Eric J. Daza — 5/9/22
Oh, I am so sorry to hear about Ada's diagnosis—and for the challenging time y'all are going through. I'm heartened to hear about the love and support around Ada and your family, and to see a plan forming around that support. Y'all are in my thoughts and feelings. Team Ada will support you however we can!
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Matt Bedrossian — 5/9/22
Sending love, light and prayers to Ada and the Swenson family
Marisa Lukesic — 5/9/22
Dearest Ada and Swenson family, I’ve got Ada on my mind!! You are the spunkiest kiddo that I know! Feel better so soon so that I can come share a World Cultures story with you!! Love Ms Marisa
gina buda — 5/9/22
Sending positive thoughts and prayers for you all. Anyway I can help let me know. Hugs!
Saryn Cushing-Leubner — 5/9/22
Sending all my love & healing vibes to Ada & your family. Ada is such an amazing & strong girl. Hugs to you all.
Daisy Palchik — 5/9/22
Sending lots of love and positive vibes your way. Hugs and Prayers!
Melanie Ball — 5/9/22
I am keeping Ada and your family in my thoughts. You have so many people who care about you, and we will continue to send you strength, support, and love through this time.
Amy Head — 5/9/22
Oh, Dear Ada. My thoughts are with you and your family. 🙏🏻
Cari Felker — 5/9/22
We are all sending you are love and prayers. Thank goodness Ada has strong knowledgeable parents to help her fight. Also both of you have a large positive, strong caring family to support you both. Don’t hesitate to reach out if anything is needed big or small. Love you all❤️
Julie Leuthold — 5/9/22
I am so sorry to hear this sad news.
Ada is loved by so many. I will keep her and your family in my thoughts and prayers. Healing Hugs,
Julie Leuthold
Kia Haugen — 5/9/22
Sending lots of love to your whole family 💗
Robyn Czappa — 5/9/22
I will be keeping Ada and the rest of your family in my thoughts and sending positive vibes, and strength your way!
Bertina Yen — 5/9/22
Wishing Ada and her family much strength and support during this challenging time.
Cathi Epright — 5/9/22
Sending you all much strength, tons of healing energy, big hugs and so very much love!
Mariah Zenz — 5/9/22
Sending all of our love to Ada and are here for anything you guys need. She is such a strong girl 🤍

-Mariah and Bethanee
Pam Flatoff — 5/9/22
My thoughts and prayers are with you all. Stay strong and positive. Love you.
Neil Swenson — 5/9/22
I wish you all the greatest strength in this battle. Thank goodness ADA is so determined.
Alicia Swenson — 5/8/22
Thinking of you all and sending positive healing thoughts to you and sweet Ada.
Amanda Reed — 5/8/22
Praying for strength and healing for Ada and restful sleep for all of her family. 🎗
Mihaela Delagrave — 5/8/22
I know I have only been in the classroom for a month, but she has definitely won me over, with her smile, her sassy, smart, funny personality. Give her a great big hug and ask her to tell you about the mouse that lives in the palm of her hand(it’s a little trick I have to calm her emotions) ❤️
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Tami Swenson — 5/10/22
So that's what that is! She has been doing that.
Emily Karch — 5/8/22
Love this!
Staci Hefty — 5/8/22
Sending you great BIG hugs Ada (and the whole family)!!
Kari Powell — 5/8/22
Sweet Ada. We are praying hard for all of you!
Linda Swenson — 5/8/22
Thinking and praying for Ada and your family🙏🏻
Please let us know how we can help. We love you all much 😘
Becky Aiken — 5/8/22
Ross and I are sending you all so much love. We are thinking of you, and please don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything! ❤️
Emily Karch — 5/8/22
Love you Ada!
- Miss Emily and all of your friends from Costa Rica
Kay aiken — 5/8/22
We are so sad that Ada and all of you are going through this. We are praying for you all. We love you!
Molly Murgatroyd — 5/8/22
Thinking of Ada and your family often. Sending hugs and only the most positive thoughts and prayers your way. I’m sure I’m one of many who would jump to help out with anything you guys need. Just name it. ❤️
Patti Spaid (Felker) — 5/8/22
Love you all. Praying for my little 'Red Rum' buddy.
Cheryl and Tim Clark
May 8, 2022
Patti Spaid (Felker)
May 8, 2022
Mark Swenson
May 8, 2022
Thinking Of You Sweet Ada! Hugs And Prayers! Love Ron And Patty
May 8, 2022

May 7, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/8/22
Our Fun loving, beauty!
Cheryl Clark — 5/8/22
Our beautiful Ada 😍

May 7, 2022

Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/11/22
Our Beautiful grandchildren!

May 7, 2022

Cari Felker — 5/10/22
Such a cutie!
Mihaela Delagrave — 5/8/22
What a goof!
Karen and Mark Swenson — 5/8/22
Goofy girl!

May 7, 2022

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May 7, 2022

0 comments

Hello Joel!

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